Epoxide-dihydrodiol pathway drugs

The Epoxide-Dihydrodiol Pathway of Benzene and Phenyl-Containing Drugs... 

Besides the drugs discussed above, other phenyl-containing xenobiotics are also substrates of the epoxide-dihydrodiol pathway. Thus, a number of isomeric dichlorobiphenyls (10.23, m = 2, n = 0, or m = n = 1) were metabolized by rat liver microsomes to stable monophenols and dihydrodiols [84], Like for benzene, the second step in this pathway can be assumed to be a de-... 

Biological systems possess a number of mechanisms for protection against toxic foreign compounds, some of which have already been mentioned. Thus, metabolic transformation to more polar metabolites, which are readily excreted, is one method of detoxication. For example, conjugation of paracetamol with glucuronic acid and sulfate facilitates elimination of the drug from the body and diverts the compound away from potentially toxic pathways (see chap. 7). Alternatively, a reactive metabolite may be converted into a stable metabolite. For example, reactive epoxides can be metabolized by epoxide hydrolase to stable dihydrodiols. 

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