An integrated approach to the study of drug action mechanisms Biochemical Pharmacology is a concise and contemporary textbook on the principles of drug action. It discusses representative drugs by example to explore the range of biochemical targets and mechanisms. The book explains some of the experiments that tell us how drugs work, and it outlines the physiological and pathological context that make those action mechanisms therapeutically useful. Biochemical Pharmacology is intended primarily for students in biology and biochemistry at the advanced undergraduate or graduate levels. For classroom use, the illustrations from the book are separately available as PowerPoint slides. It is written in a conversational, vivid style that readily encourages students to explore this important area of medical science. Biochemical Pharmacology can also serve as an introduction for professionals in biosciences, as well as in pharmaceutical and health sciences. Complete with numerous figures throughout the text, which are also available separately as PowerPoint slides, Biochemical Pharmacology: Explains the role of pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and drug metabolism in drug action Provides representative examples from the pharmacology of cell excitation, hormones, nitric oxide, chemotherapy, and others Examines emerging applications of ribonucleic acids as drugs and drug targets Discusses what researchers need to know about the problems of drug distribution, elimination, and toxicity Biochemical Pharmacology is an important resource for anyone wishing to gain an in-depth understanding of drug action mechanisms and extremely useful for researchers wishing to explore some of the unanswered questions .

This volume of the Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology (Concepts in Biochemical Pharmacology) will show that pharma cology has finally arrived as a true discipline in its own right, and is no longer the handmaiden of organic chemistry and physiology. Instead it is an amalgam of all the biological sciences including biochemistry, biophysical chemistry, physiology, pathology and clinical medicine. In the volumes that make up Concepts in Bio chemical Pharmacology we hope to convince Medical Schools what should now be obvious, that pharmacology is no longer that dull topic bridging the basic sciences with medicine, but is probably the most important subject in the medical curriculum. We are grateful for the advice of Dr. Byron Clark, Director of the Pharmacology-Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health whose support made possible much of the work described in this volume. Contents Section Four: Methods 01 Stooging the MetoholiBm 01 Drugs Subsection A. Assay 01 Drugs and Their M etoholites Chapter 22 : Basic Principles in Development of Methods for Drug Assay. B. B. BRODIE. With 2 Figures 1 1 A. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . B. Principles of Developing a Method. . . . . . 1 I. Section of Method of Assay . . . . . . 1 II. Choice of Solvent for Extraction of Drug 2 III. Adsorption of Drugs by Glass Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 IV. Recoveries of Known Amounts of Compound from Biological Material. 4 V. Assessment of Sensitivity 5 VI. Assessment of Specificity 5 References. . . . . . . . . . .

This volume of the Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology (Concepts in Biochemical Pharmacology) will show that pharma cology has finally arrived as a true discipline in its own right, and is no longer the handmaiden of organic chemistry and physiology. Instead it is an amalgam of all the biological sciences including biochemistry, biophysical chemistry, physiology, pathology and clinical medicine. In the volumes that make up Concepts in Bioche mical Pharmacology we hope to convince Medical Schools what should now be obvious, that pharmacology is no longer that dull topic bridging the basic sciences with medicine, but is probably the most important subject in the medical curriculum. We are grateful for the advice of Dr. BYRON CLARKE, Director of the Pharmacology-Toxicology Program at the National Insti tutes of Health, whose support made possible much of the work described in this volume. Contents Section One: Routes of Drug Administration Chapter 1: Biological Membranes and Their Passage by Drugs. C. A. M. HOGBEN 1 References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Chapter 2: Absorption of Drugs from the Gastrointestinal Tract. L. S. SCHANKER. With 5 Figures. 9 I. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 II. Methods of Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 III. Absorption from the Stomach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 IV. Intestinal Absorption of Non-Electrolytes and Weak Electrolytes 15 V. Absorption of Weak Electrolytes from the Colon and Rectum 18 VI. Intestinal Absorption of Organic Ions. . . . . . . . . . 19 VII. Intestinal Absorption of Macromolecules . . . . . . . . . . 19 VIII. Active Transport across the Intestinal Epithelium . . . . . 20 IX. Effect of EDTA on Drug Absorption from the Intestine . . . . . . .

Fundamentals of Biochemical Pharmacology explains the molecular aspects of drugs and the changes in bio-chemical systems. The cellular movements that result from such changes are also evaluated. Biochemical lesion is extensively defined in the book. A discussion on electromagnetic radiation is also provided. A chapter of the book is devoted to the principles of electronic and nuclear magnetic resonance. The principles and applications of mass spectrometry and combined gas chromatography are then discussed. The scientific advances made with the use of immunological methods are the focus of a section of the book. Another section provides an introduction to the kinetic properties of reactions made by enzymes. The process called homogenization is clearly explained along with a discussion on the use of electron microscopy. Autoradiography shows the distribution of compounds at the subcellular level. The theoretical background of molecular spectroscopy is presented completely. The book is intended for chemists, biochemists, physicists, micro-biologists, zoologists, and botanists .

This report from the Committee on Military Nutrition Research reviews the history of caffeine usage, the metabolism of caffeine, and its physiological effects. The effects of caffeine on physical performance, cognitive function and alertness, and alleviation of sleep deprivation impairments are discussed in light of recent scientific literature. The impact of caffeine consumption on various aspects of health, including cardiovascular disease, reproduction, bone mineral density, and fluid homeostasis are reviewed. The behavioral effects of caffeine are also discussed, including the effect of caffeine on reaction to stress, withdrawal effects, and detrimental effects of high intakes. The amounts of caffeine found to enhance vigilance and reaction time consistently are reviewed and recommendations are made with respect to amounts of caffeine appropriate for maintaining alertness of military personnel during field operations. Recommendations are also provided on the need for appropriate labeling of caffeine-containing supplements, and education of military personnel on the use of these supplements. A brief review of some alternatives to caffeine is also provided.

The Gastrointestinal Section of the International Union of Pharmacology (IUPHAR) was established in 1994 in Montreal, Canada. The establishment of the GI Section recognizes the international progress of gastrointestinal pharmacology, including basic and human studies. The Gastrointestinal Section of IUPHAR organized the first symposium, Biochemical Pharmacology as an Approach to Gastrointestinal Diseases: from Basic Science to Clinical Perspectives, on 10-12 October, 1995, in Pécs, Hungary. The main topics were: Gastrointestinal secretory and excretory fuctions Gastrointestinal motility Biochemical-pharmacological mechanisms in neural and hormonal actions involved in GI functions Main normal and pathological biochemical mechanisms in GI functions GI mucosal injury and protection Molecular mechanisms of premalignant and malignant diseases in GI tract Use of isolated cells and cell cultures in bioochemical-pharmacological studies to approach GI diseases. The presented papers are published in this book.

The subject of this volume is to review chemical agents which affect blood and blood-forming organs. Significant ad- vances made over the past several years in the purification of several hematopoietic growth factors, such as erythro- poietin and colony stimulating factor; the availability of several other growth factors, such as the interleukins which are important in regulating the production of red blood cells, leukocytes, megakaryocytes and platelets are discus- sed. Numerous toxic chemical substances are being produced in our environment which people are exposed todaily causing a suppression of erythropoiesis, myelopoiesis and megakaryo- cytopoiesis. Attempts to evaluate both the therapeutic role of some of the newer growth factors, such as erythropoietin in the anemia of end stage disease, as well as colony stimu- lating factors in somehematopoietic abnormalities are also covered in this volume. In addition, numerous chemical fac- tors in our environment which suppress major hematopoietic lineages stimulated by erythropoietin, macrophage colony stimulating factor, granulocyte colony stimulating factor, interleukin 1-alpha, 1-beta, 2,3,4,5,6, and 7 are also in- cluded. In addition, chapters on the use of erythropoietin in the treatment of anemia of end stage renal disease can provide the practicing hematologist and nephrologist with updated information on the use of erythropoietin for this disease. The book includes chapters on the fundamental con- trol of hematopoiesis and other mechanisms of action of erythropoietin, and finally an up-to-date overview of the chemotherapy of leukemia. This book will prove useful to in- vestigators in the fields of pharmacology, physiology, nephrology, urology, hematology, pathology, endocrinology, biochemistry, and molecular and cell biology.