title: Enterohepatic recirculation and renal metabolism of morphine in the rat.
abstract: Morphine (2.5 mg/kg) was administered iv to intact (I), bile duct-cannulated (BC), and bile duct-cannulated--renal-ligated (BC-RL) rats (n = 4 per group) to investigate the extent of enterohepatic recirculation and renal metabolism of the drug. A decrease in the serum area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) was observed for the BC in comparison with I rats. From these AUC values, it was determined that approximately 16% of the administered dose was subject to enterohepatic recirculation. In addition, a statistically significant (p less than 0.05) decrease in the systemic clearance of morphine was observed in the BC-RL rats compared with the BC animals (55.2 +/- 17.2 versus 31.4 +/- 8.5 mL/min/kg). This decrement in systemic clearance appeared to be the result of a significant decrease in the formation clearance of morphine glucuronide after ligation of the renal pedicles (23.2 +/- 4.8 versus 10.9 +/- 5.0 mL/min/kg). Renal metabolic clearance was calculated as 15.7 mL/min/kg, accounting for 28.5% of the systemic clearance of morphine. Hepatic clearance (31.4 +/- 8.5 mL/min/kg) accounted for 56.8% of total systemic clearance.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599-7360.
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Horton
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Pollack
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004764:Enterohepatic Circulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism*; D008657:Metabolic Clearance Rate / Q000502:physiology; D009020:Morphine / Q000378:metabolism / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D009020:Morphine