Orgotein--(bovine Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase), an anti-inflammatory protein drug: discovery, toxicology and pharmacology.

Orgotein is the generic name adopted by the USAN Council for drug versions of the Cu-Zn superoxide dismutases. It is obtained from bovine liver by a process sequentially involving heat treatment, enzymatic digestion of other proteins and purification to homogeneity by molecular sieve and ion-exchange chromatography. Orgotein occurs naturally in all mammalian cells, with liver, kidney, and erythrocytes being the richest sources. Prior to employing Orgotein in the clinic, a variety of toxicological and pharmacological investigations in animals have been conducted. The results of these studies are being presented. They indicate that Orgotein possesses a potent anti-inflammatory activity coupled with a pronounced lack of general pharmacological effects, and that its toxicity is of an extremely low order. Orgotein, a major topic of this workshop, is the generic name adopted in 1971 by the U.S. Adopted Names Council for drug versions of the Cu-Zn superoxide dismutases (SOD).