The toxicity of a drug is defined as the degree to which a chemical can destroy a living organism, while the efficacy of a drug is the maximum response that a drug can achieve. All medications must go through toxicity and efficacy testing. The purpose of toxicity testing is to determine the dose-effect and to determine its toxicity when compared to other known chemicals (Ooi et al., 2018) . Different methods for testing toxicity and efficacy of a drug include animals, cell cultures, and computer simulations.
Preferred Model for Testing
I will prefer to use the animal model to test for toxicity and efficacy. Animal models involve the use of laboratory animals to check for the action of the drug instead of using humans directly. Scientists choose animals that are closer to the physiology of humans so that it is easy to replicate or extrapolate the results to human beings. Animal model testing helps to avoid fatalities to humans, especially if the drug is new (Society of Toxicology, 2006). I chose to use animal models because I already understand the anatomy, physiology, and genetics of the animals I will want; hence, it is easier to observe any changes that are caused by the drug in question. FDA approved anticancer drug paclitaxel toxicological studies using animal models (Kue et al., 2015) . The studies were done on a conventional mouse, and the results were replicable on human beings.
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Pros of Animal Models in Toxicological Research
The breeding time of animals is less as compared to that of human beings; hence, one can determine the long and short-term effect of the drug. The housing and the handing of animals are comfortable as compared to human beings since animals follow instructions without having to dispute (Society of Toxicology, 2006). The cost of animal experiments is less as compared to clinical trials ventures. Also, most of the people are not willing to take part in clinical trials; hence, there has to be a budget to pay them so that they are convinced.
Cons of Animal Models
The metabolism of animals may be different from that of humans; hence, the results are not 100% replicable to human beings (Bourgeois & Richards, 2013) . The body weight of animals is not the same as that of human beings, while toxicity is dependent on the dose, which is calculated based on body weight.
Efficacy, Toxicity, and Lethality in Drug Testing
It is necessary to test for efficacy toxicity and lethality of a drug when determining the safety and efficacy of the medication. Toxicity is the degree at which the drug can cause harm to the individual. The lethality of a drug determines the lethal dose. A lethal dose is a dose that causes mortality in 50% of the animals. While the efficacy of a drug is the ability of the drug to elicit the desired clinical outcomes, the right drug should be able to ameliorate the disease symptoms and be safe to the individual using it (Bourgeois & Richards, 2013) . It is important to determine the quantity of medication that can cause harm to the patient and what amount of the drug is safe to restore good health, and this is where toxicity and lethality come in.
Reflection on the Tests and Information Gathered
Information from Toxicity Testing
In toxicity testing, the researcher aims to determine the different effects of the drug known as an endpoint of toxicity. The parameter of toxicity involves checking for inflammation and tissue necrosis. It also involves checking liquid peroxidation, immunosuppression, and receptor interaction. Toxicity testing also shows an adverse response in human beings. The results obtained label a substance to be of no effect or highly toxic for use in public health assessment. The critical tests determine acute toxicity, chronic toxicity, dermal toxicity, neurotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity (Bourgeois & Richards, 2013) . The lethal dose determines the dose at which 50% of the tested animals die LD50
Information from Efficacy Testing
Efficacy and therapeutic index go hand in hand. They provide information that safely utilizes a chemical for treatment. They are quantitative studies, in which ED50 measures the lowest effective dose in 50% of the tested population. The therapeutic index shows the safety of the drug. When the therapeutic index is high, the drug is safer. When the therapeutic index is low, the drug is less secure. A small therapeutic index shows a small margin between toxic and effective levels (Bourgeois & Richards, 2013) . Drugs with a high therapeutic index have a more significant margin between poisonous and effective lines.
The same procedure should be used for different categories of products used by human beings. Every product used should be safe for human consumption. Products that human being does not use necessarily on themselves but use them around them; for instance, pesticides should also go through the same procedures. With the information, scientists can educate people on ways of preventing poisoning and measures to take in case of such incidence. Without knowledge, no cautions would be taken since people would assume that all the products were safe. Their ingestion would then lead to fatalities.
References
Kue, C. S., Tan, K. Y., LaM, M. L., & Lee, H. B. (2015). Chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM): an alternative predictive model in acute toxicological studies for anti-cancer drugs. Experimental animals , 14-0059.
Ooi, J. P., Kasim, S. R., Shaari, R. B., & Saidin, N. A. (2018). In vivo efficacy and toxicity of synthesized nano-β-tricalcium phosphate in a rabbit tibial defect model. Toxicology Research and Application , 2 , 2397847318819499.
Richards, I. S., & Bourgeois, M. M. (2014). Principles and practice of toxicology in public health (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Society of Toxicology. (2006). Animals in research: The importance of animals in the science of toxicology. Retrieved from https://www.toxicology.org/pubs/docs/air/AIR_Final.pdf
