Pharmacokinetics of meloxicam in rabbits after oral administration of single and multiple doses

To determine the pharmacokinetics of meloxicam (1 mg/kg) in rabbits after oral administration of single and multiple doses.

6 healthy rabbits.

A single dose of meloxicam (1 mg/kg, PO) was administered to the rabbits. After a 10-day washout period, meloxicam (1 mg/kg, PO) was administered to rabbits every 24 hours for 5 days. Blood samples were obtained from rabbits at predetermined intervals during both treatment periods. Plasma meloxicam concentrations were determined, and noncompartmental pharmacokinetic analysis was performed.

The mean peak plasma concentration and area under the plasma concentration-versus-time curve extrapolated to infinity after administration of a single dose of meloxicam were 0.83 μg/mL and 10.37 h•μg/mL, respectively. After administration of meloxicam for 5 days, the mean peak plasma concentration was 1.33 μg/mL, and the area under the plasma concentration-versus-time curve from the time of administration of the last dose to 24 hours after that time was 18.79 h•μg/mL. For single- and multiple-dose meloxicam experiments, the mean time to maximum plasma concentration was 6.5 and 5.8 hours and the mean terminal half-life was 6.1 and 6.7 hours, respectively.

Plasma concentrations of meloxicam for rabbits in the present study were proportionally higher than those previously reported for rabbits receiving 0.2 mg of meloxicam/kg and were similar to those determined for animals of other species that received clinically effective doses. A dose of 1 mg/kg may be necessary to achieve clinically effective circulating concentrations of meloxicam in rabbits, although further studies are needed.