BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate genetic polymorphisms of CYP2D6 among healthy Uygur individuals. Genetic polymorphisms of CYP2D6 could greatly affect CYP2D6 activity and lead to differences among individuals in drug efficacy or side effects. To investigate genetic polymorphisms of CYP2D6 in the Uygur population, we directly sequenced the whole gene in 96 unrelated, healthy Uygur volunteers from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and screened for genetic variants in the promoter, intron, exons, and 3’UTR.ResultsWe detected 62 genetic polymorphisms of CYP2D6, 16 of which were novel SNP with three novel non-synonymous mutations detected for the first time. The allelic frequencies of CYP2D6*1, *10, *39, and *48 were 0.542, 0.156, 0.068, 0.229, and 0.073, respectively. The frequency of CYP2D6*1/*10 which decreased CYP2D6 enzyme activity was 31.3 %.ConclusionsOur results provided basic information about CYP2D6 polymorphisms, suggested that the enzymatic activities of CYP2D6 might be different within the Uygur ethnic group, and provide a basis for safer drug administration and better therapeutic treatment of Uygur individuals.