Detoxication mechanisms in man

Many of the reactions which foreign compounds undergo in the common laboratory animals are found to occur also in man. There are exceptions to this, however, such as the glutamine coniugation of arylacetic acids, which occurs only in man and the chimpanzee and not in laboratory animals. While these exceptions are probably not the rule, they must be taken into accmmt. The main difference between man and laboratory animals probably lies in the rates of the reactions which transform drugs. These differences in rates may have profound effects on drug action. These reactions consist of various oxidations, reductions, hydrolyses, and coniugations, which are carried out by enzymes, many of which are located in the liver. Not only does man differ from laboratory animals, but various groups of people vary from one another in their ability to metabolize drugs, and as yet little is known about this variation. Variation in drug metabolism in man could be due to age, sex, genetic make‐up, the effect of one drug upon the metabolism of another, and the effect of prolonged administration of one drug upon its own metabolism. Many observations have been made on laboratory animals in these respects, but few have been made in man.