Drug metabolism comprises the metabolism of endogenous and exogenous substances. During metabolism most drugs lose the pharmacological activity and are excreted from the body. Drug metabolic reactions are divided into two classes i.e. phase I and phase II metabolic reactions. The characterisation of drug metabolising enzyme is necessary in order to determine the toxic metabolites of drugs. The understanding of drug metabolism is essential for new drug design and development. The evaluation of pharmacokinetic properties is necessary to see whether they can be useful drug candidates. In this chapter we have discussed drug metabolic reaction and drug metabolising enzymes with the help of examples of drug molecules.
Part of the book: Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics