Drug metabolism nitro reduction

The mechanism in hepatic cellular metabolism involves an electron transport system that functions for many drugs and chemical substances. These reactions include O-demethylation, N-demethyla-tion, hydroxylation, nitro reduction and other classical biotransformations. The electron transport system contains the heme protein, cytochrome P-450 that is reduced by NADPH via a flavoprotein, cytochrome P-450 reductase. For oxidative metabolic reactions, cytochrome P-450, in its reduced state (Fe 2), incorporates one atom of oxygen into the drug substrate and another into water. Many metabolic reductive reactions also utilize this system. In addition, there is a lipid component, phosphatidylcholine, which is associated with the electron transport and is an obligatory requirement for... 

Various aromatic nitro drugs undergo enzymatic reduction to the corresponding aromatic amines. For example, the 7-nitro benzodiazepine derivatives clonazepam and nitrazepam are metabolized extensively to their respective 7-amino meubolitcs in humans. Thc skeletal muscle relaxant dantrolene (Dantrium) also reportedly undergoes reduction to aminodantrolene in humans. ... 

Reduction. Reduction, for example azo- and nitro-reduc-tion, is a less common pathway of drug metabolism. Reductase activity is found in the microsomal fraction and in the cytosol of the hepatocyte. Anaerobic intestinal bacteria in the lower gastrointestinal tract are also rich in these reductive enzymes. A historical example concerns Prontosil, a sulfonamide prodrug. It is metabolized by azo-reduction to form the active metabolite, sulfanilamide. Sulfasalazine is also cleaved by azoreduction by intestinal bacteria to form aminosalicylate, the active component, and sulfapyridine. Chloramphenicol is metabolized by... 

Reductive biotransformations of several compounds such as polyhalogenated, keto, nitro and azo derivatives, are catalysed by a variety of enzymes which differ according to the substrates and the species. The liver cytochrome P-450-dependent drug metabolizing system is capable of reducing Af-oxide, nitro and azo bonds, whereas the cytosolic nitrobenzene reductase activity is mainly due to cytochrome P-450 reductase, which transforms nitrobenzene into its hydroxylamino derivative. NADPH cytochrome c reductase is also able to catalyse the reduction of nitro compounds. These metabolic conversions may also be brought about by gastrointestinal anaerobic bacteria. 

Azo compounds, while not as prevalent in drugs as nitro groups, are an essential part of an important group of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). An azo compound is one that contains an N=N bond, and these groups are subject to metabolic reduction. Many of the azo NSAIDS are poorly absorbed when taken orally and reach the intestines largely unaltered. The human intestine is alive with bacteria and these are rich sources... 

Their antibacterial and mutagenic activity is closely related to the reduction of the 5-nitro group, which is common to all nitroimidazole drugs, and the subsequent formation of reactive metabolites that bind to bacterial DNA, inhibiting DNA and protein synthesis in the microorganisms. Metabolism of 5-nitroimidaz-oles in mammals usually leads to covalently bound residues with a persistent imidazole structure. 

Reductive processes play an important role in the metabolism of many compounds containing carbonyl, nitro. and azo groups. Bioreduction of carbonyl compounds generates alcohol derivatives." whereas nitro and a/.o reductions lead to amino derivatives. " The hydroxyl and amino moieties of Ihe metabolites are much more su.scepliblc to conjugation than the functional groups of the parent compounds. Hence, reductive processes, as such, facilitate drug elimination. 

As discussed in Sections 2.3.5 and 2.4, it is currently believed that the toxic and carcinogenic effects of PAHs are mediated by reactive diol-epoxide intermediates that interact directly with DNA and RNA, producing adducts. The formation of these adducts leads to neoplastic transformation as well as interfering with the normal functioning of rapidly proliferating tissues. As discussed above, these reactive intermediates are formed when PAHs are biotransformed by the P-450 enzymes. Interference with these metabolic pathways, by inactivation of the activated diol epoxides, reduction in tissue levels of cytochrome P-450, and direct inhibition of the cytochrome P-450 enzymes responsible for the formation of the reactive intermediates, could reduce the toxic and carcinogenic effects of PAHs. A number of drugs, such as cobaltous chloride, SKF-525-A, and 6-nitro-... 

---