Clinical pharmacology of organic nitrates. Discussion

Although organic nitrates have been used in cardiovascular therapy for many years, various aspects of their pharmacology remain poorly understood. It is now known that organic nitrates produce nitric oxide (NO) in vascular smooth muscle cells, catalyzed by a membrane-bound enzyme that is not glutathione-S-transferase. Other nitrovasodilators, such as organic nitrites, sodium nitroprusside, and S-nitrosothiols, do not utilize the same enzyme for NO generation