The influence of food on nitrofurantoin bioavailability

The effect of food on the absorption of five commercial dosage forms of nitrofurantoin varying widely in drug release and dissolution characteristics was assessed in man after oral administration. Four healthy fasting and nonfasting male subjects received, in a crossover fashion, a single 100-mg dose of microcrystalline nitrofurantoin as an aqueous suspension, three different compressed tablets, and a single 100-mg dose of macrocrystalline nitrofurantoin in a capsule. Both the absorption and the duration of therapeutic urinary concentrations of nitrofurantoin were significantly increased after administration of the five products to nonfasting subjects. The enhancement in the bioavailability of the drug in the presence of food ranged from 20% to 400%, with the greatest absorption-enhancing effect occurring with those dosage forms exhibiting the poorest dissolution characteristics. It is concluded that single-dose comparative bioavailability studies of drug products normally administered with food should be performed in both nonfasting and fasting subjects.