Xenobiotica the fate of foreign compounds in biological systems

ISSN: 0049-8254 (Print) 1366-5928 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ixen20

21 years of Xenobiotica Dennis V. Parke To cite this article: Dennis V. Parke (1992) 21 years of Xenobiotica, Xenobiotica, 22:12, 1355-1356, DOI: 10.3109/00498259209056686 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/00498259209056686

Published online: 22 Sep 2008.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 8

View related articles

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=ixen20 Download by: [81.7.17.171]

Date: 14 March 2016, At: 20:13

XENOBIOTICA,

1992,

VOL.

22,

NO.

12, 1355-1356

Editorial

Downloaded by [81.7.17.171] at 20:13 14 March 2016

21 years of Xenobiotica My first introduction to drug metabolism came nearly half-a-century ago, when, as a young army pathologist in India, I was faced with the task of evaluating the safety of some new antibiotics. I found to my embarrassment that no one, not even in the USA, could advise how to undertake such a study, so my efforts were limited to possible histopathological and haematological changes in small groups of rats fed two doses of the drugs, for a total period of one week. My official report was rightly criticised by the Chief Scientist of the provisional Government of India, a Dr. Anton Karl, who asked why I had not conducted any drug metabolism or pharmacokinetic studies. I confessed my ignorance of these matters whereupon he presented me with a copy of R. T. Williams’ first book and suggested that I went to Tecwyn Williams’ laboratory to study this exciting new discipline. A few years later, in 1948, I did. Williams, though peripherally interested in toxicology, was the absolute devotee to drug metabolism and, as we all know, was a founder-father of the subject. His vision was that drug metabolism studies would eventually create a new scientific discipline, standing alongside biochemistry and pharmacology, a prediction since realised. In 1967, with the blessing and support of Williams, I moved to the University of Surrey to start up new undergraduate and postgraduate courses in toxicology to provide expertise for the new government committees that were being formed internationally to monitor the safety of new medicines, food additives, pesticides and other chemicals. Soon after this move, in the early 197Os, Sir Rudolph Peters, editor of Biochemical Pharmacology, wrote indicating that he was being inundated with manuscripts on drug metabolism studies, which he was not able to accept for publication. Many of these papers were from scientists in industry and were not considered sufficiently innovative or seminal for publication in any of the existing scientific journals. Also at that time, many European biochemists regarded drug metabolism as outside their field of interest, and most European pharmacologists were largely uninterested in the molecular aspects of their subject. However, a few leaders in the field, including Sir Rudolph Peters and Sir Hans Krebs, were highly supportive of this new science of drug metabolism, and urged me to start up a new journal to publish the spate of work which was now being undertaken. R. T. Williams, Ron Estabrook, Herbert Remmer, Ryuichi Kato, and numerous others around the world, pledged their support, and Tecwyn proposed the title Xenobiotica, and the science of xenobiochemistry. Drug metabolism studies and pharmacokinetics became the scientific basis for the safety evaluation of new medicines, food additives, pesticides and industrial chemicals, generating a plethora of publications, and graduates and postgraduates in drug metabolism and toxicology found ready employment in these new industries. As might have been expected with this rapidly proliferating new field, a number of other new journals quickly appeared, including Drug Metabolism and Disposition, Chemico-Biological Interactions, Drug Metabolism Reviews, etc., resulting today in as great a number of publications in xenobiochemistry as appear in the parent subjects of biochemistry and pharmacology. Developments in molecular biology and the new

Downloaded by [81.7.17.171] at 20:13 14 March 2016

1356

Editorial

physico-chemical techniques quickly led to xenobiochemistry becoming a new fundamental science. Furthermore, recent genetic and evolutionary studies have revealed that millions of years of plant-animal chemical warfare was responsible for the known accelerated boost in evolution and, in consequence, to a high degree of biological dependence on the drug-metabolising enzymes for good health and even survival. T h e importance of xenobiochemistry in an understanding of the molecular mechanisms of toxicity and in the pharmacokinetics of drug action, led some 10years ago to Xenobiotica creating special sections devoted to these important aspects of the subject, with Associate Editors appointed to develop these specific interests. Thus, in the 21 years or more of its publication, Xenobiotica has seen drug metabolism studies and xenobiochemistry develop from a peripheral interest of toxicology into a new medical science discipline. So this seemed to be a good time for me to hand over the reins of editorship to another colleague, who may guide the journal through a further exciting period of the development of this fascinating subject. In so doing, I give my most sincere thanks to the Associate Editors, and those who have served, and continue to serve, on the Editorial Board; to the numerous reviewers and referees, and to those who have published their work in Xenobiotica, but most of all to Doreen, my wife, who has been responsible for all of the administration and much of the sub-editing of Xenobiotica. For all of these have contributed to the success of this journal, and I hope that they will long continue to give their support to Xenobiotica and to Professor Gordon Gibson, who is to be the new Editor. DENNIS v. PARKE, EDITOR.

21 years of Xenobiotica.

Xenobiotica the fate of foreign compounds in biological systems ISSN: 0049-8254 (Print) 1366-5928 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.c...
275KB Sizes 0 Downloads 0 Views