GB 17. Liver - Detoxification and Excretion Flashcards
What is Pharmacokinetics?
it is the movement of drugs into, around and out of the body
What are the 4 aspects of pharmacokinetics?
[1] Absorption
[2] Distribution
[3] Metabolism
[4] Excretion
What is drug metabolism?
metabolism is the process whereby drugs in the body undergo transformations catalysed by enzymes
- the products of these transformations are called metabolites
What are metabolites?
they are products of metabolism transformations (that are catalysed by enzymes)
Why is drug metabolism important in to help with renal excretion?
generally in drug metabolism:
lipophilic drugs (hydrophobic cannot be excreted) are converted to hydrophilic metabolites (lipophobic and are excretable)
What are some of the outcomes of drug metabolism?
[1] drug can be converted to a form which is excretable
[2] drug action can be terminated
[3] drug can be converted to a metabolite which has pharmacological activity of its own
[4] an inactive compound called PRO-DRUG can be converted to an active metabolite
Where does drug metabolism occur?
- liver is the principal organ of drug metabolism
- liver cells contain efficient enzymes for metabolism of foreign materials
In most cases, the liver produces a material that is…
- water soluble
- easier to excrete
What is the First Pass Effect?
- there is a problem when orally administered drugs are rendered inactive the first time they pass through the liver
What are the steps involved in the First Pass Effect?
[1] drug is taken orally
[2] drug enters the GI tract
[3] active drug is absorbed from stomach and small intestines
[4] high blood concentration of drug is in hepatic portal vein
[5] low blood plasma levels of drug after passing through the liver due to metabolism
- drug is over metabolized in liver (?)
What are Phase 1 reactions? (general overview)
- transformation of drug into a more Polar Metabolite by introducing a functional group
(e. g. via oxidation, reduction or hydrolysis) - main function of phase I metabolism is to prepare drugs for phase II metabolism
- oxidation reactions are often catalyzed by a member of the cytochrome P450 family
- these enzymes are mostly located in the ER of the hepatocytes
What are Phase 2 reactions? (general overview)
- gets rid of the drug
- a hydrophilic groups is conjugated with a functional group giving a water soluble product (excreted in bile or urine)
- involves the combination of glucoronic acid, sulfate, acetic acid or amino acid with a functional group (which may or may not result from phase I) to form a polar conjugate that can be readily excreted
- enzymes catalyzing these reactions are mostly located in the cytosol of the hepatocytes
What are the phase I reactions? [4]
[1] oxidation
[2] dealkylation
[3] reduction
[4] hydrolysis
What are some of the functional groups that are added to the drug? [3]
[1] Hydroxyl (OH)
[2] Amino (NH2)
[3] Carboxylic Acid (COOH)
Many of the oxidation reactions in phase 1 metabolism are catalyzed by?
they are catalyzed by:
- Mixed Function Oxidase (MFO) system
- — Cytochrome P450
- — NADPH
- — molecular O2
What is the main goal of the phase I Oxidation/Hydroxylation reaction?
adding an OH group