Codeine-6-glucuronide (C6G) is a major active metabolite of

codeine Codeine is an opiate and prodrug of morphine mainly used to treat pain, coughing, and diarrhea. It is also commonly used as a recreational drug. It is found naturally in the sap of the opium poppy, ''Papaver somniferum''. It is typically use ...

and may be responsible for as much as 60% of the

analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It ...

effects of codeine. C6G exhibits decreased immunosuppressive effects compared to codeine. During its metabolism, codeine is conjugated with

glucuronic acid Glucuronic acid (from Greek γλεῦκος "''wine, must''" and οὖρον "''urine''") is a uronic acid that was first isolated from urine (hence the name). It is found in many gums such as gum arabic (c. 18%), xanthan, and kombucha tea ...

by the enzyme UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase-2B7 (UGT2B7) to form codeine-6-glucuronide.

References

{{Opioidergics Mu-opioid receptor agonists 4,5-Epoxymorphinans Opioid metabolites Glucuronide esters Phenols

See also

References