title: Stereoselective pharmacokinetics of doxepin isomers.
abstract: Commercial preparations of the tricyclic anti-depressant doxepin contain 15% of the more active cis-doxepin and 85% of the trans-isomer. The single dose pharmacokinetics of doxepin and its major metabolite N-desmethyldoxepin were examined in 30 healthy young men. Results for total doxepin showed wide intersubject variation in all pharmacokinetic parameters except tmax and Cmax. Plasma levels of cis-doxepin were extremely low and it was only possible to estimate the stereoselective pharmacokinetics of the parent drug in 3 subjects. The data from those particular subjects resulted in an average ratio of cis- to trans-doxepin isomers in plasma of 15:85. In contrast, the mean plasma levels of cis-N-desmethyldoxepin in 28 subjects exceeded those of the trans-isomer at every time point after 10 h, such that the areas under the plasma concentration versus time curves (AUC) of cis-N-desmethyldoxepin were significantly higher than those of the corresponding trans-isomer. This phenomenon may play an important role in the therapeutic action of doxepin since it has been suggested that cis-N-desmethyldoxepin is pharmacologically active. In 2 subjects, however, the AUC0-inf of trans-N-desmethyldoxepin were respectively 4 and 8 fold higher than those of the cis-isomer.
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
authors.forename: K K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Midha
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Hubbard
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: McKay
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Hawes
authors.forename: E D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Korchinski
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gurnsey
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schwede
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000378:metabolism; D004316:Doxepin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013237:Stereoisomerism; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D004316:Doxepin; C028701:desmethyldoxepin