Metabolism of digoxin after oral and intrajejunal administration

To study the influence of administration site on metabolism of digoxin in the gut, urinary excretion of digoxin and its metabolites was compared after oral and intrajejunal administration of [3H]-digoxin solution to eight healthy volunteers, using liquid chromatography for the drug analysis. Dihydrodigoxin was not excreted in higher amounts after the more distal administration. The excretions of hydrolytic and non-extractable metabolites were significantly greater after the oral administration.