What the Heck is Cytochrome 2C9?
Cytochrome 2C9 is an enzyme produced by the liver, part of a system of enzymes that cleans your system of drugs and other foreign substances. You’ve got a number of such systems and many different cytochromes. Let me introduce you to 2C9; she is a typical cytochrome. She doesn’t have a real catchy name, but cytochrome 2C9 deserves your respect. Mother nature developed 2C9 and her sisters to neutralize toxins in our food and to eliminate metabolic poisons from our systems. There are different types of cytochromes, but I’m going to focus in on the cytochrome P450 system, a family that includes several cytochromes, including your new friend, cytochrome 2C9. In our June 2004 newsletter, I said that a pharmaceutical drug may cause side effects in one person and be well tolerated by another. It depends on their metabolic makeup, and that’s where 2C9 comes in. Her activities can alter what a drug does in your system. Here’s an example: Say you take some ibuprofen for a sore muscle. The packag
