Table 2.

Relative potencies of some glucocorticoids

Glucocorticoid	Antiinflammatory potencyb	Mineralcorticoid potency	Half-life in hours
Cortisol	1	1	8–12
Prednisonea	4	0.8	18–36
methylprednisoloneb	5	0.5	18–36
Betamethasone	25	0.01	> 36
Dexamethasone	25	0.01	> 36

The second and third columns of Table 2 indicate corticosteroid antiinflammatory and mineralcorticoid potency, respectively, relative to cortisol (by convention, cortisol = 1)

^aPrednisone undergoes hepatic conversion to prednisolone for activation. Such a conversion is nearly 100%, even in the presence of significant hepatic dysfunction

^bPrednisone is a pro-drug and is converted to the active drugs