A new method for assessment of drug absorption from muscle: application of a local perfusion system

Drug absorption from muscle has been examined using the rabbit hind leg, isolated by cannulating the femoral artery and vein, and perfused with or without bovine serum albumin (BSA) using a single-pass technique. A model compound, [14C]sucrose, was injected into the musculus gastrocnemius, and its appearance in the venous outflow was monitored and kinetically analysed by statistical moment theory. The fraction absorbed and mean arrival time in the venous outflow were calculated to be 103% and 50.5 min, respectively, in the BSA-containing system. The results of perfusion experiments without BSA were not significantly different, suggesting possible use of the simpler BSA-free perfusion system to obtain information on the muscular absorption of drugs.