[The pharmacokinetics of papaverine and its bioavailability from a sustained-action preparation]

The serum levels of intravenously and orally given papaverine were determined in healthy, fasting beagles. The bioavailability of the drug was assessed in the same animals following single administration of the sustained-action preparation Panergon (papaverine-hydrochloride). Based on a one-compartment model, the time of invasion, the half-life of elimination, the volume of distribution and the absorption rate of papaverine were calcualted. A comparison of the areas under the concentration curves shows the complete bioavailability of the papaverine contained in Panergon.