Short-period double-dosing for simultaneous evaluation of intestinal absorption and hepatic disposition in a single conscious rat using cephalexin as test drug

AN EVALUATION METHOD FOR NONLINEAR LOCAL DISPOSITION IN RAT LIVER AND KIDNEY

A two-sampling sites method was developed to separately estimate the nonlinear local disposition in the liver and kidney by sampling blood simultaneously from the hepatic vein and an artery after intravenous administration. Using this method, it was attempted to predict the renal elimination from the systemic and hepatic elimination. Etoposide, a substrate of both P-glycoprotein and CYP3A, was used as a model drug. The blood samples from the hepatic vein and an artery were simultaneously taken from a rat after intravenous administration of etoposide at a dose of 20 or 80 mg/kg. At a dose of 20 mg/kg, the total clearance (CL), hepatic clearance (CLH), and renal clearance (CLR=CL-CLH), which were almost constant, were 2.82 +/- 0.24, 0.742 +/- 0.214, and 2.09 +/- 0.34 l/h/kg, respectively. At a dose of 80 mg/kg, CL and CLR considerably decreased with an increase in plasma concentration, whereas CLH slightly decreased. By means of the two-sampling sites method, we estimated the local drug disposition in the liver and kidney. The present local pharmacokinetic method would be applicable to assess the local disposition of other drugs that are mainly metabolized in these organs.

Introduction of recirculatory analysis into portal and systemic concentration difference method

Recirculatory analysis was introduced into the portal and systemic concentration difference method with double dosing (PS-DD method), which is an evaluation system for the local intestinal and hepatic first-pass effect. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) and cephalexin (CEX) were selected as model drugs. A new recirculatory system was constructed to predict the time courses of a drug concentration in the systemic and portal bloods. Bioavailability (F), local absorption ratio (Fa), hepatic recovery ratio (FH), and local mean absorption time (ta) estimated by recirculatory analysis were close to those calculated by moment analysis with numerical integration. Using recirculatory analysis, the sampling period was considerably shortened and the sampling number was also reduced, which demonstrates that recirculatory analysis is useful in PS-DD method.

Effect of pentobarbital anaesthesia on intestinal absorption and hepatic first-pass metabolism of oxacillin in rats, evaluated by portal-systemic concentration difference

The effects of anaesthesia on intestinal drug absorption and hepatic first-pass metabolism in rats were investigated by observing the difference in the drug concentration between portal and systemic bloods. Oxacillin and pentobarbital were selected as a model drug and as an anaesthetic, respectively. Rats were divided into a conscious control group and an anaesthetized group. All rats were cannulated simultaneously in the portal vein and in the femoral artery, and oxacillin was orally administered after its intra-arterial injection (double dosing). For the anaesthetized group, pentobarbital was intrasubcutaneously administered twice, first before intra-arterial injection and again before oral administration of oxacillin. The arterial blood alone was sampled from the cannula in the femoral artery before oral administration, whereas the arterial and portal bloods were simultaneously sampled from both cannulated sites after oral administration. Oxacillin concentrations in plasma were assayed by HPLC. The anaesthesia increased the absolute bioavailability (F), the mean absorption time (MAT) and the hepatic recovery ratio (F(H)), but caused little change in the local absorption ratio into the portal system (Fa) and the total clearance (CL). The hepatic clearance (CL(H)) was significantly decreased, resulting in an apparent small change in CL-CL(H) which is considered to be renal clearance. By this method, it was shown directly that an increase in F due to pentobarbital anaesthesia was attributable to the significant increase in F(H). It is expected that the method is useful not only to evaluate the effect of anaesthesia on the first-pass effect, but also to assess the effect of co-administration of drugs on first-pass metabolism.