Question

What does the lipid theory tell?

(a) Lower the solubility of the anesthetic in water higher potency it has

(b) Higher the solubility of the anesthetic in water higher potency it has

(c) Higher the solubility of the anesthetic in oil higher potency it has

(d) Lower the solubility of the anesthetic in oil higher potency it has

The question was asked during an interview for a job.

My question comes from Mechanism of Action of General Anesthetics in division Local & General Anesthetics, Opioid Analgesics, Drug Addiction and Drug Abuse of Drug Biotechnology

Answer 1

The correct answer is (c) Higher the solubility of the anesthetic in oil higher potency it has

Best explanation: The lipid theory states that higher the solubility of anesthetics is in oil greater is the potency of that anesthetics. It is based on the fact that anesthetic action is correlated with the oil/gas coefficients. The Protein (Receptor) theory states that based on the fact that anesthetic potency is correlated with the ability of anesthetics to inhibit enzymes activity of a pure, soluble protein. Also, attempts to explain the GABAA receptor is a potential target of anesthetics action.