Xenobiotic metabolism is the study of how foreign substances, known as xenobiotics, are broken down and eliminated by the body. Xenobiotics can include drugs, environmental pollutants, and other chemicals that the body is not naturally equipped to handle. The process of xenobiotic metabolism involves various enzymes and pathways in the liver and other organs that work to detoxify and eliminate these substances from the body. Understanding xenobiotic metabolism is important in fields such as toxicology, pharmacology, and environmental health, as it helps researchers and healthcare professionals understand how these substances affect the body and develop ways to mitigate their harmful effects.