ABSTRACT
Xenobiotics which enter the animal body will undergo one or more possible fates. Virtually all of the atoms within organic compounds have the potential to undergo oxidation in the animal body. The removal of halogen atoms from xenobiotics by the cleavage of carbon-halogen bonds is a reaction of considerable toxicological significance. The reductive cleavage of carbon-halogen bonds, and reduction may also be a feature of the metabolism of alkene, carbonyl, azo, nitro, sulfoxide, and sulfone functionalities. The glucuronic acid conjugation mechanism is the most versatile of the conjugation reactions in terms of its zoological distribution and range of substrates. Methylation is a reaction of catechol hydroxyl, thiol, and various nitrogen centers in xenobiotics.
