VPT 421: Veterinary Toxicology (2+0)

FORMATION OF DRUG RESIDUES

• The compound administered to a food-producing animal is not necessarily the substance present in the edible product from that animal.
• The rate and extent of absorption, the rate and extent of metabolism of the parent compound and its various metabolites govern both the relative and absolute amount of each part of the residue.
• The total drug residue in the treated animal therefore consists of parent compound, free metabolites and metabolites covalently bound to macromolecules.
• Different toxicologic significances can be associated with these individual fractions of the total residue burden.