Intestinal first-pass metabolism of eperisone in the rat

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to clarify quantitatively the contribution of the intestine to the first-pass metabolism of eperisone in rats. Methods. The systemic availabilities of eperisone were estimated by administering the drug into the duodenum, portal vein, and femoral vein in rats in vivo. The first-pass metabolism of eperisone was confirmed in the perfused rat small intestine in situ. Metabolism of eperisone to an omega -1-hydroxylated metabolite (HMO), the first step of eperisone metabolism, was studied using rat intestinal microsomes in vitro, Results. The bioavailabilities in the intestine were 0.176 and 0.0879 at administration rates of 100 and 25 mg/h/kg, respectively, whereas those in the liver were 0.532 and 0.486, respectively. In the intestinal perfusion experiment, the appearance clearance to the portal vein from the intestinal lumen was much lower than the elimination clearance from the intestinal lumen, resulting in high metabolic clearance of eperisone in the small intestine. Eperisone was biotransformed to HMO by rat intestinal microsomes, and this was inhibited by a-naphthoflavone and an anti-rat CYP1A antibody. Conclusions. Those data strongly suggest that eperisone may be metabolized to HMO by CYP1A in rat intestinal microsomes during the first-pass through the epithelium of the small intestine.