In: Biology
Many drugs are biotransformed by having a glucuronic acid moiety attached to them. What type of molecule is glucuronic acid, and what role does it play in drug metabolism?
Glucuronic acid is basically a sugar acid which comes from glucose. When the sixth carbon atom of the glucose gets oxidized into carboxylic acid, glucuronic acid is formed. Glucoronic acid is attached to the drugs by the reaction known as glucuronidation catalyzed by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase. Glucuronidation is a phase II transformation reaction of drug metabolism.
The main purpose of adding glucuronic is to increase the solubility of the drug in water which facilitates the easy elimination of drug from the body either by urine or by bile.