Common variation in the
CYP
2B6
gene, encoding the cytochrome P450 2B6 enzyme, is associated with substrate‐specific altered clearance of multiple drugs.
CYP
2B6 is a minor contributor to hepatic nicotine metabolism, but the enzyme has been proposed as relevant to nicotine‐related behaviors because of reported
CYP
2B6
mRNA
expression in human brain tissue. Therefore, we hypothesized that
CYP
2B6 variants would be associated with altered nicotine oxidation, and that nicotine metabolism by
CYP
2B6 would be detected in human brain microsomes. We generated recombinant enzymes in insect cells corresponding to nine common
CYP
2B6
haplotypes and demonstrate genetically determined differences in nicotine oxidation to nicotine iminium ion and nornicotine for both (S) and (R)‐nicotine. Notably, the
CYP
2B6.6 and
CYP
2B6.9 variants demonstrated lower intrinsic clearance relative to the reference enzyme,
CYP
2B6.1. In the presence of human brain microsomes, along with nicotine‐
N
‐oxidation, we also detect nicotine oxidation to nicotine iminium ion. However, unlike
N
‐oxidation, this activity is
NADPH
independent, does not follow Michaelis‐Menten kinetics, and is not inhibited by
NADP
or carbon monoxide. Furthermore, metabolism of common
CYP
2B6 probe substrates, methadone and ketamine, is not detected in the presence of brain microsomes. We conclude that
CYP
2B6 metabolizes nicotine stereoselectively and common
CYP
2B6 variants differ in nicotine metabolism activity, but did not find evidence of
CYP
2B6 activity in human brain.