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Drug metabolism — from molecules to man
Toxicology, 52 (1988)219--222 Elsevier Scientific Publishers Ireland Ltd.
BOOK REVIEW D r u g M e t a b o l i s m -- f r o m Molecules to Man. Editors: D.J. Benford, J.W.
Bridges and G.G. Gibson, Taylor & Francis, London, New York, Philadelphia, 1987, Pages: 803, Price: 2~70, ISBN 0-85066-373-3. This book is an impressive account of our current knowledge in drug metabolism and is compiled from the contributions to the 10th European Drug Metabolism Workshop which was held in 1986 in Guildford, Surrey, U.K. The European Drug Metabolism Workshops began in 1970 in Guildford and have since been conducted by interested colleagues in the form of a fairly unofficial personalized organisation of various European locations: Guildford (1971), Tiibingen (1972), Mainz (1974), Stockholm (1976), Leiden (1978), ZiJrich (1980), Liege (1982), Nancy (1984) and the 10th Workshop was appropriately again held in Guildford. On this occasion, a previously only marginally violated (Nancy) tradition of non-publishing the proceedings was abandoned, and this volume was written by no less than 207 authors and dedicated to Professor Dennis Parke who retired from the Chairmanship of the Biochemistry Department in Guildford. In 72 contributions of which only 5 were from non-European authors the current state of the art of drug metabolism is displayed in front of the reader. While some of the contributions give a more extensive review on certain aspects, others offer brief progress reports, making the book a healthy mixture of both. The main headings, under which various contributions are grouped are drug metabolising enzymes at the molecular level, human drug metabolising enzymes, conjugating enzymes, techniques in drug analysis and probes for drug metabolising enzymes, extrapolations to various ages and species, biological models, techniques, safety evaluation, metabolism and toxicity, active metabolites, and extrahepatic metabolism, and finally the metabolic h t e of particular classes of compounds. In view of this demonstrative wealth in information and the gratifying treasure of implicit suggestions for further work it will be impossible for this reviewer to go into detail in describing certain features. E v e r y reader definitely will have to make his own selection. In this situation, even a brief description of the individual articles would go h r beyond the scope of this review, so that the interested reader should take the "risk" and acquire the volume semi-blindly according to the above list of 12 major subjects. As the book is dedicated to Professor Dennis Parke and his outstanding contributions to drug metabolism one exception may be made by mentioning that in his own contribution Parke points to the future possibilities of understanding the physico-chemical interactions of substrates with cytochrome P-450 much better by first understanding their physical 0300-483X/88/$03.50 © Elsevier Scientific Publishers Ireland Ltd. Printed and Published in Ireland
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properties. The book will not only be an invaluable vade-mecum to the abou (numerically appropriate) 450 participants in the workshop, but it will provq to be a rich source of information on the activites in Europe to all those wh~ want to keep themselves up to date and well informed about th~ developments in drug metabolism. The book is reproduced from a uniforml~ type-written matrix and well bound. In short, it will be an importan~ addition to the bookself of everyone interested in biochemical pharmacology.
K.J. Nette~ Cosmetic Safety -- A P r i m e r for Cosmetic Scientists. Cosmetic Science and Technology Series/Vol. 5, Editor: James H. Whittam, Pages: 368, illustrated, Price: $99.75 (U.S. and Canada), $119.50 (all other countries), Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, N.Y. 1987, ISBN 0-8247-7538-4. To review a book ultimately concerned with the beauty of the gentle sex for a toxicological journal signals an alarming situation, namely that the use of cosmetics may have toxic implications. Since antiquity all sorts of commodities have been used to paint the skin, the nails, the eyelids etc., and very rarely one had thought that this could be a dangerous enterprise until certain ingredients of cosmetics have been identified to be possibly carcinogenic, allergenic, irritating, or otherwise detrimental. Hence, there is an established system of regulating the safety of cosmetics and for a similar reason this book has been published. It serves to introduce its readers into the problems connected with cosmetic safety and is ideally suited to be a "primer" for cosmetic scientists. It is a text by 14 contributors who have supplied 11 chapters; the book is divided in a discussion of general safety issues and the safety considerations in specific product categories. The editor begins with a witty and colourful introduction, also based on historic considerations and leading to appreciation of this text. The first chapter by Bronaugh and Maibach brings the dermatological aspects of ingredient safety and the methods for assuring dermatological safety. This is followed by a chapter on ocular irritation (Jackson) which in turn is followed by an overview on the current methodology of teratogenic risk assessment (Merker). Palmer deals with the chemical safety in a cosmetic laboratory. Allen is to be thanked for his very extensive (83 pages) chapter on experimental design and statistics. This chapter -- as well as to a great extent also the previous ones is of more general nature and will make excellent reading in statistics for all biological scientists. The considerations of specific product categories deal with those used on the skin (Kaufmann and Rappaport), on the eye (Wortzman), and antiperspirants (Morton and Palazzolo). While these chapters tend to be broader the next one (50 pages; by Mast) on the cosmetology of nails gives very detailed information. Concerned with individual and partially controversial chemicals for hair dyeing is the 20-page chapter by Burnett. The editor closes with the problems of risk assessment of hair dyeing (10 pages). -
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BOOK REVIEW D r u g M e t a b o l i s m -- f r o m Molecules to Man. Editors: D.J. Benford, J.W.
Bridges and G.G. Gibson, Taylor & Francis, London, New York, Philadelphia, 1987, Pages: 803, Price: 2~70, ISBN 0-85066-373-3. This book is an impressive account of our current knowledge in drug metabolism and is compiled from the contributions to the 10th European Drug Metabolism Workshop which was held in 1986 in Guildford, Surrey, U.K. The European Drug Metabolism Workshops began in 1970 in Guildford and have since been conducted by interested colleagues in the form of a fairly unofficial personalized organisation of various European locations: Guildford (1971), Tiibingen (1972), Mainz (1974), Stockholm (1976), Leiden (1978), ZiJrich (1980), Liege (1982), Nancy (1984) and the 10th Workshop was appropriately again held in Guildford. On this occasion, a previously only marginally violated (Nancy) tradition of non-publishing the proceedings was abandoned, and this volume was written by no less than 207 authors and dedicated to Professor Dennis Parke who retired from the Chairmanship of the Biochemistry Department in Guildford. In 72 contributions of which only 5 were from non-European authors the current state of the art of drug metabolism is displayed in front of the reader. While some of the contributions give a more extensive review on certain aspects, others offer brief progress reports, making the book a healthy mixture of both. The main headings, under which various contributions are grouped are drug metabolising enzymes at the molecular level, human drug metabolising enzymes, conjugating enzymes, techniques in drug analysis and probes for drug metabolising enzymes, extrapolations to various ages and species, biological models, techniques, safety evaluation, metabolism and toxicity, active metabolites, and extrahepatic metabolism, and finally the metabolic h t e of particular classes of compounds. In view of this demonstrative wealth in information and the gratifying treasure of implicit suggestions for further work it will be impossible for this reviewer to go into detail in describing certain features. E v e r y reader definitely will have to make his own selection. In this situation, even a brief description of the individual articles would go h r beyond the scope of this review, so that the interested reader should take the "risk" and acquire the volume semi-blindly according to the above list of 12 major subjects. As the book is dedicated to Professor Dennis Parke and his outstanding contributions to drug metabolism one exception may be made by mentioning that in his own contribution Parke points to the future possibilities of understanding the physico-chemical interactions of substrates with cytochrome P-450 much better by first understanding their physical 0300-483X/88/$03.50 © Elsevier Scientific Publishers Ireland Ltd. Printed and Published in Ireland
219
properties. The book will not only be an invaluable vade-mecum to the abou (numerically appropriate) 450 participants in the workshop, but it will provq to be a rich source of information on the activites in Europe to all those wh~ want to keep themselves up to date and well informed about th~ developments in drug metabolism. The book is reproduced from a uniforml~ type-written matrix and well bound. In short, it will be an importan~ addition to the bookself of everyone interested in biochemical pharmacology.
K.J. Nette~ Cosmetic Safety -- A P r i m e r for Cosmetic Scientists. Cosmetic Science and Technology Series/Vol. 5, Editor: James H. Whittam, Pages: 368, illustrated, Price: $99.75 (U.S. and Canada), $119.50 (all other countries), Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, N.Y. 1987, ISBN 0-8247-7538-4. To review a book ultimately concerned with the beauty of the gentle sex for a toxicological journal signals an alarming situation, namely that the use of cosmetics may have toxic implications. Since antiquity all sorts of commodities have been used to paint the skin, the nails, the eyelids etc., and very rarely one had thought that this could be a dangerous enterprise until certain ingredients of cosmetics have been identified to be possibly carcinogenic, allergenic, irritating, or otherwise detrimental. Hence, there is an established system of regulating the safety of cosmetics and for a similar reason this book has been published. It serves to introduce its readers into the problems connected with cosmetic safety and is ideally suited to be a "primer" for cosmetic scientists. It is a text by 14 contributors who have supplied 11 chapters; the book is divided in a discussion of general safety issues and the safety considerations in specific product categories. The editor begins with a witty and colourful introduction, also based on historic considerations and leading to appreciation of this text. The first chapter by Bronaugh and Maibach brings the dermatological aspects of ingredient safety and the methods for assuring dermatological safety. This is followed by a chapter on ocular irritation (Jackson) which in turn is followed by an overview on the current methodology of teratogenic risk assessment (Merker). Palmer deals with the chemical safety in a cosmetic laboratory. Allen is to be thanked for his very extensive (83 pages) chapter on experimental design and statistics. This chapter -- as well as to a great extent also the previous ones is of more general nature and will make excellent reading in statistics for all biological scientists. The considerations of specific product categories deal with those used on the skin (Kaufmann and Rappaport), on the eye (Wortzman), and antiperspirants (Morton and Palazzolo). While these chapters tend to be broader the next one (50 pages; by Mast) on the cosmetology of nails gives very detailed information. Concerned with individual and partially controversial chemicals for hair dyeing is the 20-page chapter by Burnett. The editor closes with the problems of risk assessment of hair dyeing (10 pages). -
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