Effects of probenecid on enprofylline kinetics in man

Enprofylline 1 mg/kg, a new potent antiasthmatic xanthine derivative, which is mainly eliminated by renal excretion, was given intravenously to 6 normal subjects with and without oral pretreatment with 1 g probenecid. The latter caused a drop in the average total body clearance of enprofylline from 21 to 9.8 l/h, and in the average renal clearance from 17 to 8.0 l/h. The average half-life increased from 1.8 to 3.0 h. The volumes of distribution, Vz and Vss, both fell by about 25%, indicating that probenecid had restricted the distribution of enprofylline in the body. The plasma protein binding of enprofylline was not altered by probenecid. The results confirm the opinion that active tubular secretion accounts for a large proportion of the total elimination of enprofylline.