WEBSITES OF NOTE

This site combines educational and research material in a commendably professional manner. The site came to my attention as a recommendation from Furge and Guegenrisch in their recent paper about cytochrome P450 in this journal [1]. Cytochrome P450 is central to our very ability to survive in a milieu of synthetic chemicals and drugs (xenobiotics). I lecture on P450 in my science and medical courses and commend the excellent chapter in Devlin [2] as a key reference for students. Most textbooks give little more than footnote status to P450, so a supportive web site is most welcome to expand the information available to students. The section titled The History of Xenobiotic Metabolism contains the following background. “An examination of the fate of foreign compounds (xenobiotics) in biological systems is a natural outgrowth of man’s curiosity about his environment and how it can affect his actions. While the majority of modern day studies concern the fate of drugs in man and animals there are extensive investigations on the fate of organic compounds in plants, animals and microorganisms. The term xenobiotic was coined to cover all organic compounds that were foreign to the organism under study. In some situations this is loosely defined to include naturally present compounds administered by alternate routes or at unnatural concentrations.” This section also provides a historical look at the development of xenobiotic metabolism presented as a calendar produced with commercial sponsorship. The 12 topics addressed are Woehler – the birth of metabolism; oxidation; sulfate conjugation; glucuronidation; methylation and acetylation; reduction; mercapturic acids; R. T. Williams as founder of the field of metabolism; B. B. Brodie and drug metabolism methodology; in vitro technology; cytochrome P450; and a look to the future. This progression of vignettes should appeal to students wanting an illustrated overview of xenobiotic metabolism.