Effect of phenobarbital on biliary lipid metabolism in normal man.
The efficacy of phenobarbital in altering biliary lipid composition in normal man was investigated by determining parameters of biliary lipid metabolism in 8 human subjects without biliary tract disease before and after oral phenobarbital administration at a dose of approximately 3 mg per kg per day for 25 to 54 days. In 8 subjects studied, phenobarbital did not produce any statistically significant changes in the following parameters: bile lipid composition, cholesterol saturation index, total bile acid pool size, daily fractional turnover rate of cholic acid, hepatic secretion rates of cholesterol, bile acids, or phospholipids, and the fraction of the total bile acid pool represented by individual bile acids. Therefore, phenobarbital is not an effective agent, at least when used alone, in inducing changes in bile lipid composition during a short term of administration in normal man. This would indicate that phenobarbital would not be a useful modality in the prevention of the development of cholesterol gallstones, but its prophylactic value in subjects with bile of higher lithogenicity cannot be predicted from these studies.
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D001646:Bile / Q000032:analysis / Q000187:drug effects; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000032:analysis; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000517:prevention & control; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008297:Male; D010634:Phenobarbital / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000378:metabolism
D001647:Bile Acids and Salts; D010743:Phospholipids; D002784:Cholesterol; D010634:Phenobarbital