Enzymology in preclinical safety evaluation

This short paper will briefly discuss the merits of determining plasma enzyme activities in pre-clinical safety evaluation. Emphasis is placed on the value of selecting the appropriate enzymes and collecting blood samples at the appropriate times during the study, so as to gain the maximum amount of diagnostic information. Examples of actual results will be cited to illustrate some of the points. These examples are drawn from the 2 commonly used toxicology species--the laboratory white rat and the beagle--and serve to demonstrate the importance of enzymology in monitoring the progress or resolution of an adverse drug effect.