Oxidative metabolites cyclooxygenase, metabolism

While comparatively few dihydrodiols have been observed in the metabolism of phenyl-containing drugs, the examples above are far from unique. Thus, oxazepam incubated in rat, mouse, and human microsomes did yield a dihydrodiol besides the para-phenol [82], A more-recent example is that of rofecoxib (10.22), a potent and selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor. In rats and dogs, phenyl oxidation produced 4 -hydroxyrofecoxib and rof-ecoxib-3, 4 -dihydrodiol as urinary metabolites of intermediate quantitative importance [83]. 

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