Factors Affecting Glucuronidation in vivo

Most foreign compounds are conjugated in vivo producing metabolites which are fairly strong organic acids and are readily excreted in either the urine or bile (see Williams & Millburn, 1974). The major conjugation mechanisms in animals are those utilizing glucuronic acid, glucose, sulphate, glycine, cysteine, acetylation and methylation (see Williams, 1968). Glucuronic acid conjugation is the most widespread and versatile of these conjugation reactions, occurring extensively in man and most mammalian species except the cat. Many foreign compounds with widely different molecular structures can be metabolized by this important conjugation mechanism (see Table l), and possibly this fact together with the ready availability of glucuronic acid from other carbohydrates in the body accounts for the widespread occurrence of glucuronidation. It would not be