The influence of phenobarbital on biotransformation of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol

Altered vitamin D metabolism has been implicated as a cause of anticonvulsant-induced osteomalacia. Previous studies have demonstrated accelerated biotransformation of vitamin D3 to 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OHD3). However, it is not known whether the 25-OHD3 is metabolized to 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25-(OH)2D3), the tissue-active metabolite of vitamin D3. This study using rats was undertaken to study the influence of phenobarbital on the biotransformation of 25-OHD3 to 1,25-(OH)2D3. The disappearance rate of 25-OHD3 was virtually the same in the pheno-barbital-treated group (re = 0.0615 pmole/min) and the control group (re - 0.0549 pmole/min). Similarly, the appearance rate of 1,25-(OH)2D3 was virtually the same in the treated group (ra = 0.0133 pmole/min) and the control group (ra = 0.0134 pmole/min). These data suggest that phenobarbital does not affect the biotransformation of 25-OHD3 to 1,25-(OH)2D3. The implication of this observation is that altered vitamin D metabolism does not account for phenobarbital-induced osteomalacia.