Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of the prodrug DB289 (2,5-bis[4-(N-methoxyamidino)phenyl]furan monomaleate) in rat and monkey and its conversion to the antiprotozoal/antifungal drug DB75 (2,5-bis(4-guanylphenyl)furan dihydrochloride).

DB289 (pafuramidine maleate; 2,5-bis[4-(N-methoxyamidino)phenyl]furan monomaleate) is a prodrug of DB75 (furamidine dihydrochloride; 2,5-bis(4-guanylphenyl)furan dihydrochloride), an aromatic dication related to pentamidine that has demonstrated good efficacy against African trypanosomiasis, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, and malaria, but lacks adequate oral availability. The pharmacokinetics and metabolism of 14C-DB289 have been investigated in rat and monkey after oral and intravenous administration. Oral doses were well absorbed (approximately 50-70%) and effectively converted to DB75 in both species but subject to first-pass metabolism and hepatic retention, limiting its systemic bioavailability to 10 to 20%. Clearance of DB289 approximated the liver plasma flow and its large volume of distribution was consistent with extensive tissue binding. Plasma protein binding of DB289 was 97 to 99% in four animal species and humans, but that of DB75 was noticeably less and more species- and concentration-dependent. Together, prodrug and active metabolite accounted for less than 20% of the plasma radioactivity after an oral dose, but DB75 was the major radiochemical component in key organs such as brain and liver and was largely responsible for the persistence of 14C in the body. The predominant route of excretion of radioactivity was via the feces, although biliary secretion was not particularly extensive. High-performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry investigations showed that the formation of DB75 from the prodrug involved the sequential loss of the two N-methoxy groups, either directly or by O-demethylation followed by reduction of the resulting oxime to the amidine. It was estimated that almost half of an oral dose of DB289 to rats and about one-third of that to monkeys was metabolized to DB75.

Absorption, distribution and excretion of 14C-pilocarpine following oral administration to rats.

The absorption, distribution and excretion of pilocarpine (CAS 92-13-7) were studied after single oral doses of 14C-pilocarpine hydrochloride (CAS 54-71-7) to the Sprague-Dawley rat, administered in aqueous solution mainly at a dose level of 0.3 mg/kg. Rats also received single intravenous doses at 0.3 mg/kg so as to compare 14C pharmacokinetics and excretion. The oral 14C-dose was rapidly and almost completely absorbed from the duodenum and small intestine within 30 min in the male rat and 14C concentrations in plasma declined biexponentially with a terminal half-life of about 9 h. Over the oral dosage range studied, i.e. 0.1-1.0 mg/kg, there was no evidence of significant non-proportionality for Cmax of 14C, whereas there was some such evidence for AUG24. Tissue 14C concentrations in male and pregnant female (Day 18) rats peaked at 0.5 h and mostly declined in parallel with those in the plasma. Excluding tissues concerned with drug absorption and elimination, 14C concentrations in most tissues were similar to, or lower than, those in the plasma. The extent of placental transfer of 14C was small and less than 0.09% of a maternal dose reached a foetus. 14C diffused into maternal milk at concentrations similar to those in the plasma. The 14C-dose was rapidly excreted in male rats, mostly in the urine (about 80%) during 6 h post dose. Recoveries of 14C in mass balance (excretion) studies were in the range 96-100%. There were no apparent gender differences in the disposition of 14C-pilocarpine in the rat.