Route-dependent stereoselective pharmacokinetics of tramadol and its active O-demethylated metabolite in rats.

The effects of route of administration on the stereoselective pharmacokinetics of tramadol (T) and its active metabolite (M1) were studied in rats. A single 20 mg/kg dose of racemic T was administered through intravenous, intraperitoneal, or oral route to different groups of rats, and blood and urine samples were collected. Samples were analyzed using chiral chromatography, and pharmacokinetic parameters (mean ± SD) were estimated by noncompartmental methods. Following intravenous injection, there was no stereoselectivity in the pharmacokinetics of T. Both enantiomers showed clearance values (62.5 ± 27.2 and 64.4 ± 39.0 ml/min/kg for (+)- and (−)-T, respectively) that were equal or higher than the reported liver blood flow in rats. Similar to T, the area under the plasma concentration–time curves (AUCs) of M1 did not exhibit stereoselectivity after intravenous administration of the parent drug. However, the systemic availability of (+)-T was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than that of its antipode following intraperitoneal (0.527 ± 0.240 vs. 0.373 ± 0.189) and oral (0.307 ± 0.136 vs. 0.159 ± 0.115) administrations. The AUC of the M1 enantiomers, on the other hand, remained mostly nonstereoselective regardless of the route of administration. Pharmacokinetic analysis indicated that the stereoselectivity in the pharmacokinetics of oral T is due to stereoselective first pass metabolism in the liver and, possibly, in the gastrointestinal tract. The direction and extent of stereoselectivity in the pharmacokinetics of T and M1 in rats were in agreement with those previously reported in humans, suggesting that the rat may be a suitable model for enantioselective studies of T pharmacokinetics. Chirality, 2007. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.