ABSTRACT
As with much of the pioneering work on the biliary excretion of foreign compounds, considerable fundamental work on the enterohepatic circulation (EHC) of agents was performed at St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School as reviewed by Smith (1973). The wide range of agents undergoing this process is reviewed by Gregus and Klaasen (1986). More recently, the process of EHC of drugs and some of its consequences regarding pharmacokinetics have been reviewed by Dobrinska (1989). It is not the purpose here to give an exhaustive list of examples, but to illustrate certain phenomena and to discuss the significance of the process, highlighting the important role of the microflora.
