Drug Metabolism

Book excerpt: Drug Metabolism: Current Concepts provides a comprehensive understanding of the processes that take place following ingestion of a medicinal agent or xenobiotic, with an emphasis on the crucial role of metabolism (biotransformation). How a sound knowledge of these phenomena is incorporated into the design of effective new drug candidates is also explained. The user-friendly text focuses on concepts rather than extraneous details and is supported by many illustrated examples of biotransformations as well as frequent references to current critical reviews and articles highlighting the nature of research objectives in this vibrant area of medicinal development. The final topic on strategies for drug design relies on the background provided by the rest of the book. This book is ideally suited as an advanced text for courses in drug metabolism for students of medicine, pharmacy, pharmacology, biochemistry; and for courses in drug design and drug delivery for students of medicinal chemistry. It is also appropriate for professional seminars or courses that relate to the fate of a drug in the body, drug interactions, adverse reactions and drug design.