Biotransformation is a vital process in the body that converts substances into healthier forms, breaks down toxins, and activates pharmaceutical drugs. Enzymes are catalysts for these reactions, and metabolic processes are divided into two phases. Dosage, age, diet, disease, chemicals, and genetics can all affect biotransformation.
Biotransformation is a process essential to life driven by chemical reactions within the human body, involving the conversion of one type of substance into another. As the driving force of metabolism, it allows nutrients to be converted into substances that are healthy for the body, pharmaceutical drugs into active components that treat certain conditions, and toxic substances to be broken down into less toxic compounds before they can be eliminated. Biotransformation most often occurs within the liver, but also occurs in the kidneys, lungs, skin, and intestines.
Biotransformation processes are enabled by the continuous series of chemical reactions that occur in the body. In most cases, these processes are triggered by enzymes, which act as catalysts for biochemical reactions. Important reactions include those that process sugar. Health conditions that affect the ability of certain enzymes to perform the required reaction or problems that lead to deficiencies of those enzymes can lead to birth defects, neurological deficiencies and a variety of diseases.
Enzymes interact in different and complex ways. Some affect a single chemical reaction, while others trigger reactions on molecules with certain structures, such as amino, phosphate or methyl groups. Others target structural chemical bonding, regardless of the type of molecules present. Metabolic chemical processes are divided into the type of biotransformation step.
Phase I processes, such as oxidation and hydrolysis, interact with specific toxicants. These toxic substances can then be eliminated directly or undergo further conversion. Phase II biotransformations act on substances that have undergone the first phase and which have been converted into an intermediate state containing hydroxyl, carboxyl, amino or other reactive chemical groups. Another molecule is added to the substance to make it more soluble in water and easier to eliminate from the body. This type of reaction is important in the processing and excretion of glucose.
Biotransformation can be heavily influenced by dosage, which is affected by what a particular substance is transformed into and how much catalyst is used in processing a specific amount. Age also has an impact because young and old have slower metabolic capacities. Diet, disease, the presence of chemicals that affect certain enzymes, and genetics also have significant effects on biotransformation.
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