Toxicokinetics and Toxicogenetics

Toxicokinetics deals with what the body does with a compound given at a non-toxic dose or a relatively high dose. Toxicogenetics considers the effect of inherited differences in the metabolism of xenobiotics and their response, while toxicogenomics refers to the general study of all of the many different genes that determine xenobiotic behaviour. The fate of a xenobiotic in the human body can be described by the so-called Liberation, Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion (LADME) scheme. The parameters that characterise the LADME process are bioavailability, volume of distribution and clearance. Compared to classic pharmacokinetics, toxicokinetics may often vary due to remarkable variations in plasma concentration of the xenobiotics, long-time exposure to them leading to, for example, damage of liver or kidneys. Xenobiotics such as therapeutic drugs, drugs of abuse and other toxic compounds can be chemically modified by various metabolising enzymes.