Pharmacokinetics of theophylline in protein-calorie malnutrition

✍ Scribed by Donald Jung

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1985
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 443 KB
• Volume: 6
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0142-2782
• DOI: 10.1002/bdd.2510060304

✦ Synopsis

The influence of protein-calorie malnutrition (PCM) on the disposition of theophylline was investigated in male Sprague-Dawley rats fed for four weeks on a 23 per cent (control) or 5 per cent (low) protein diet ad lib. Dietary protein deficiency led to a decrease in body weight gain, plasma proteins. albumin, microsomal proteins, and cytochrome P-450. After intravenous administration of aminophylline equivalent to 10 mg kg-' theophylline, the average mean residence time (MRT) was 58 per cent higher in the protein-deficient rats, while the total plasma clearance (CI) per kilogram of body weight and elimination rate constant ( k ) were decreased by 39 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively, when compared to rats on a normal protein diet. No significant difference was found in the two groups of animals with respect to the apparent steady-state volume of distribution (V,,). The present results suggest that the mechanism responsible for the observed pharmacokinetic changes in the proteindeficient rats is related to the reduced amount and/or activity of the hepatic mixed function oxidases.