Drug Metabolism, Pharmacogenetics, And Therapeutic Choice Flashcards
The first major route in which drugs are eliminated from the body is
Excretion through the Kidney (unchanged)
Plays a pivotal role in terminating the biological activity of some drugs, particularly those that have small molecular sizes or possess polar characteristics
Renal excretion
A property of most drugs that facilitates passage through biological membranes as well as access to sites of action is that most drugs are
Lipophilic
Renal excretion of lipophilic compounds is
Poor
The 2nd major route of drug elimination from the body is
Biotransformation of Drugs or Xenobiotics into more hydrophilic metabolites
Biotransformation of drugs to polar and hence more readily excretable products
Drug Metabolism
Alters the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of a drug, as well as the toxic properties
Drug Metabolism
Typically increases clearance and shortens half-lives to significant extents
Drug Metabolism
For example, the half-lives of lipophilic barbiturates (e.g., pentobarbital) would be extremely long if it were not for their metabolic conversion to
Water soluble compounds
Usually detoxifies, although some metabolic products have enhanced toxicity relative to the parent drug
Drug Metabolism
Most metabolic reactions occur at some point between absorption of the drug into the general circulation and its
Renal Elimination
In general, all of these chemical reactions can be assigned to one of two major categories, termed
Phase I and Phase II reactions
Introduce or expose a polar functional group (e.g., OH, COOH, NH2, or SH) on the parent compound
Phase I reactions
Typically involve the conjugation of endogenous compounds (e.g., glucuronic acid or glutathione) to phase I products to yield highly polar (but chemically inactive) conjugates
Phase II (Conjugation) Reactions
The principle organ of drug metabolic activity
Liver
Following oral administration, drugs are first transported via the portal system to the
Liver