Influence of bran on bioavailability of chloramphenicol administered orally to pigs

The present study was undertaken to determine if bran added to a fiber-free diet (milk) would modify the absorption of orally administered chloramphenicol (cmp) compared with that observed on a standard concentrates diet in pig. The plasma chloramphenicol level was maximal (0.47 +/- 0.26 microgram/mL), 3.5 h after a meal of concentrates containing 8 g of chloramphenicol palmitate; this highest concentration represented only 30% of that observed 12 h after a meal of substituted milk and 14% of the maximal plasma concentration of chloramphenicol detected 14 h after a milk meal when supplemented with bran (100 g). Over 24 h, the plasma availability of chloramphenicol with the three tested diets represented, respectively, 11.4% (concentrates), 17.2% (milk), and 74.1% (milk + bran) of that obtained for intravenous administration; similar oral--caecal transit times were observed for these three diets. It was concluded that the presence of bran in the regimen strongly increases the intestinal absorption of chloramphenicol palmitate, with the lowest rate of absorption on standard concentrates, and it is tempting to speculate that this increase is due to a more rapid intestinal hydrolysis by an increased pancreatic lipase activity on bran.