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Hepatotoxicity and toxicokinetics of ketoconazole in rabbits
Yue-Ming Ma1, Zhang-Qing Ma, Chang-Qing Gui
1School of Chinese Materia Medica, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200032, China. maym@sh.cnuninet.net
Aim:
To study the relationship between hepatotoxicity and toxicokinetics of ketoconazole in rabbits.
Methods:
Normal rabbits were given intragastric gavage ketoconazole 40, 80, and 160 mg/kg. Ketoconazole plasma concentrations were measured by high performance liquid chromatography. Toxicokinetic parameters were determined from the plasma concentration-time data with the 3P97 software package. Activities of serum glutamate-pyruvate-transaminase and glutamate-oxalate-transaminase and hepatic histopathological changes were observed at 36 h after administration. The relationship between hepatotoxicity and toxicokinetic parameters of ketoconazole was analyzed by linear correlation.
Results:
The concentration-time curves of three doses of ketoconazole fitted well into a two-compartment model. The proportional increase in the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) was more than that in the dose after the dose reached 80 mg/kg. Ketoconazole resulted in a marked elevation in the enzyme activities and significant damage of hepatocytes. Hepatotoxicity induced by ketoconazole was correlated to the dose, clearance (CL), maximum plasma concentration (Cmax), and most closely correlated to AUC when it was assessed by elevation transaminases in serum.
Conclusion:
The severity of ketoconazole-induced hepatotoxicity was closely related to the exposure level (AUC) of the drug.