Influence of phenobarbital on bile composition in epileptic patients

The influence of phenobarbital on bile composition was studied in 13 patients with epilepsy, treated with the drug in doses ranging from 0.05 to 0.30 g per day during 4 months to 50 years. Fourteen normal subjects matched for age and sex acted as controls. Expressed as percent of total lipids, biliary cholesterol (9.2 +/- SD 2.7 in the controls, 9.0 +/- SD 2.5 in the treated patients), phospholipid (23.3 +/- SD 6.1 in the controls, 20.5 +/- SD 5.9 in the treated patients) and bile acid concentrations (67.5 +/- SD 8.1 in the controls, 70.4 +/- SD 7.4 in the treated patients) did not differ significantly in the two groups. When represented on triangular coordinates, bile from the treated patients was not separated from that of controls. These studies indicate that long-term phenobarbital administration in the doses used for the treatment of epilepsy does not modify biliary lipid composition and do not suggest that this drug may be useful in the treatment of cholesterol gallstones in man.