Pharmacokinetics of valproic acid in volunteers after a single dose study

The pharmacokinetics of valproic acid (VPA) was investigated in six healthy volunteers. This was done by monitoring total and free (unbound) valproic acid levels in the serum, and the amount of one of its metabolites, VPA glucuronide, in the urine as a function of time, after a single dose administration of the parent drug. VPA half-life calculated from the urine data of the metabolite was shorter than the half-life calculated from the blood data. About 15 to 20 per cent of the administered oral dose of VPA was excreted in the urine as VPA glucuronide. The average free fraction of VPA obtained in this study, by using the EMIT technique, ranged from 1.5 to 11.5 per cent with a mean value of 4.9 per cent.