[ENGINA]

What does pharmacologically inactive mean in terms of drug metabolites? Does it mean that the metabolite is inert and does not react with the body?

[discodermolide]

What does pharmacologically inactive mean in terms of drug metabolites? Does it mean that the metabolite is inert and does not react with the body?

It means that the drug metabolites do not possess same pharmacological effects as the drug.

[ENGINA]

Can a pharmacologically inactive metabolite be harmful, toxic or carcinogenic as long as it stays in that state?

[discodermolide]

Can a pharmacologically inactive metabolite be harmful, toxic or carcinogenic as long as it stays in that state?

Yes, but the metabolites of drugs are known and all tested for such properties.

[ENGINA]

That answers my question, but now I've got another one. The metabolite I'm looking at right now is N-acetyl-5-aminosalicylic acid. This is a long shot, but would you or anyone else know offhand if this compound is harmful in any way? In particular, can it damage cellular DNA?

The compound is a metabolite of Mesalazine, or 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), and is metabolized into N-acetyl-5-aminosalicylic acid (N-Ac-5-ASA) by gut flora and also the liver.

Thanks for your replies so far, discodermolide.