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Oral pharmacokinetics
Ibuprofen is rapidly absorbed from the upper GI tract with peak values of the R(-) and
S(?) drug in the plasma or serum at approximately 1–2 h (Brocks and Jamali1999;Graham
and Williams,2004; Table1) with some variations according to pharmaceutical formulation
(Jamali et al.1988; Aiba et al.1999; Halsas et al.1999; Higton 1999 Scott et al. 1999; Troco
niz et al. 2000 ; Ding et al.2007).The plasma S/R ratio can vary according to the time-release
characteristics of the formulation with higher ratios being obtained with sustained-release
(SR) compared with immediate-release (IR) formulations, respectively (Ding et al. 2007). A
liquid or liquigel formulation of ibuprofen has proven to be popular for rapid analgesia which
is related to fast absorption (Laska et al.1986; Seymour et al. 1991 ; Hersh et al. 2000b ).
Table1 summarizes the pharmacokinetic properties of R/S-ibuprofen, the data for which has
been derived from various studies in volunteers and patients with arthritic conditions. As can
be seen from the data in Table 1 the mean ( ± SD) values for many of these parameters in
adults show remarkable consistency from the different studies and indicate that ibuprofen
has, in general, predictable and reliable kinetic properties. Furthermore, there are dose-
related plasma concentration, Cp, and to some extent AUC values but the kinetic constants
reflected by t ½ (or the inverse,K el ) suggest that there is little variation with dos- age. There
is also little variation of these kinetic parameters with repeated dosage. The pathways of
oxidative metabolism of ibuprofen are shown in Fig. 2 . These principally involve
cytochrome P450 2C9 (CYP-2C9), CYP-2C8 and 2C19 participating in the oxidation of the
alkyl side chain to hydroxyl and car- boxyl derivatives. Phase 1 Metabolism of R(-) and S(?)
ibuprofen involves hydroxylation of the isobutyl chains to 2 or 3-hydroxy- derivatives and
subsequent oxidation to 3-carboxy-ibupro- fen and p-carboxy-2 propionate; these oxidative
reactions being catalyzed by cytochromes P 450 2C9 (CYP 2C9) and CYP-2C8 (Fig. 2 ,
Graham and Williams 2004 ). There appears to be differential involvement of these
cytochrome isoforms on the metabolism of the enantiomers with CYP- 2C9 favouring
formation of S( ?)-2 and S(?)-2 hydroxy-ibuprofen and CYP-2C8 favouring R(-)-2-
hydroxyibupro-fen formation (Hamman et al.1997). Inhibition of CYP-2C8 by administration
of gemfibrozil to humans increases theplasma concentrations of R(-)-ibuprofen by about one
third along with prolonging the elimination half lives of R(-) and S(?) by 54 and 34%,
respectively, and increase of AUC values by about 20% (Tornio et al. 2007). This suggests
that CYP-2C8 plays a major role in oxidative metabolism of the ibuprofen enantiomers.
Differences in genotypes of CYP- 2C9 have been associated with marked variations in drugs
that are metabolized by this isoform (Kirchheiner and Brockmoller 2005 ). Thus, compared
with CYP-2C9*1/*1 individuals with either *1/*2, *2/*2 *1/*3 or *3/*3 variants have 88, 78,
72 or 55% reduction in the clearance of the drug, respectively (Kirchheiner and Brockmo ller
2005 ). In Span-ish populations the occurrence of varying allelic frequencies in CYP-2C*8
and the CYP2C*3 allele have been shown to result in decreased metabolism of ibuprofen
leading to increased AUC0?? and reduced clearance (Lopez-Rodri-guez et al. 2008). For
other NSAIDs (e.g. celecoxib,diclofenac) there is either increased or decreased clearance in
individuals with these isoforms. So there is marked vari- ation in the pharmacokinetics of
ibuprofen and other NSAIDs according to the CYP-2C9 and CYP2C8 status. Differential
metabolism of S( ? ) and R(-)-ibuprofen occurs by the CYP 2C9 and CYP-2C8 with these
being referred to as S(?) ibuprofen and R(-)-ibuprofen hydroxylase activities, respectively
(Kirchheiner et al.2002). The allelic frequencies of these CYP isoenzymes the 3 ascribed to
CYP-2C9 comprise the wild type CYP-2C9*1 which is characterized by an arginine at codon
359 on the gene. In the variant CYP-2C9*2 this arginine is replace by cysteine, and in the
variant CYP-2C9*3 the isoleucine-359 is replaced by leucine. In vitro studies and human PK
studies have shown that CYP-2C9*2 has only slightly less activity than that of the wild type
CYP2C9*1 whereas that of CYP-2C9*3 is 10–30% less so (Kirchheiner et al.2002).In
comparisons of the pharmacokinetics of the S(?) enantiomer the rates of clearance were
found to parallel the enzymic activity with subjects having the CYP-2C9*1/*2 and *3/*3
variants having 27 and 53% less clearance than those with the wild type *1/*1 genotype
(Kirchheiner et al. 2002 ). Other studies have examined the role of CYP-2C9 and CYP-2C19
polymorphisms for associations with drug- induced idiosyncratic reactions (Pachkoria et al.
2007 ). While arguably liver reactions from NSAIDs may be associated with abnormalities of
phase 1 and phase 2 metabolism, the studies by Pachkoria et al. ( 2007) have failed to
establish if polymorphisms of CYP-2C9 or CYP-2C19 are associated with liver disease.
There do not appear to be any differences in R( - )/S( ? ) pharmacokinetics with sex in adults
(Knights et al. 1995;Walker and Carmody 1998 ) with the exception of the volume of
distribution VD/F being about twice that in adult females compared with males (Walker and
Carmody 1998). As noted later there are age differences in plasma levels and kinetics of
ibuprofen; elderly subjects have slightly prolonged values of elimination half life for the total
drug concentrations (Albert and Gernaat 1984 ) or the AUC for S( ?) ibuprofen (Chen and
Chen 1995 ). Compromised liver metabolism in patients with mod- erate to severe cirrhosis
leads to prolongation of the t ½ To 3.1 h and 3.4 h for R( - ) and S(?) ibuprofen with evidence
of reduced metabolic inversion of the R( - )toS( ? ) enantiomer (Li et al.1993). Alcoholic liver
disease alsoprolongs theTmaxfor the total Cp as well as thet ½ (Albert and Gernaat 1984 ).
Elevation of the AUC for S(? ) ibuprofen and higher S( ?)/R(-) ratios have been observed in
patients with a variety of chronic inflammatory diseases who have impaired renal function
(Chen and Chen 1995 ). Surgical removal of wisdom teeth has been found to cause
substantial reduction in the serum concentrations of both R(-) and S(?)-ibuprofen (by 2.6 and
3.5-fold,respectively) with prolonged Tmax from approximately 1 h to 4–6 h depending on
the dose (Jamali and Kunz-Dober 1999 ). It was suggested that a number of stress-related
factors influencing GI functions could contribute to reduced gastric absorption of ibuprofen
(Jamali and Kunz- Dober 1999 ). These observations are of particular thera- peutic
importance for they argue in favour of higher doses of the drug for pre-emptive or post-
operative surgery. Phase II metabolism involves formation of phenolic and acyl glucuronides
(Rudy et al. 1991 ; Kepp et al. 1997 ; Brocks and Jamali 1999 ; Graham and Hicks 2004 ) and
a minor route of conjugation with taurine which is stereo- specific to the S(?) enantiomer
because of formation from
the thioester CoA which participates in the R(-)to S(? ) conversion (Shirley et al.1994).
Biliary excretion in humans of unchanged drug and active phase II metabolites accounts for
about 1% of the drug, which compares with 50% of the urinary excretion (Schneider et
al.1990). The 15 known UDP-gluronyltransferases that catalyze formation of glu- curonides
in human liver have been shown to be controlled by 5 UGTIA and 5 UGT2B genes and the
development of these proceeds from birth to 6 months of age (Strassburg et al. 2002 ).
Hepatic glucuronidation of ibuprofen has been found to be 24-fold lower in children aged 13–
24 months than in adults (Strassburg et al. 2002 ). This low level of detoxification of
ibuprofen is clearly an important consid- eration for safe dosage of the drug to infants.
Stereospecific disposition of ibuprofen enantiomers occurs into the synovial fluids of arthritic
patients, many of whom have synovitis or inflammation of their knees. There is appreciable
accumulation of R/S-ibuprofen in synovial fluids with broad peaks occurring over a period of
2–6 h which follows the peak plasma or serum
. The ratios of total ibu-profen concentrations in the synovial fluid to those in plasma is about
1.24 at 7 h following single dose of 600 mg of the drug and 0.52–1.46 at 3–12 h after 3 daily
doses of ibuprofen 1.8 g day-1 (Gallo et al. 1986 ). The mean free total ibuprofen in synovial
fluid ranges from 1.81 to 2.91% compared with that in plasma which is 1.54– 2.53%. Thus,
there is appreciable total and free R/S-ibu- profen that accumulates in synovial fluids of
arthritic patients and clearly this will have therapeutic significance in relation to the local
anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of the drug in pain control. In studies of the dis-
position of the individual enantiomers it has been found that the concentrations of the S( ? )
isomer as well as values of AUC S( ? ) always exceed those of the R( - ) enantiomer (Day et
al. 1988 ; Cox et al. 1991 ; Geisslinger et al. 1993 ; Seideman et al. 1994 ) with similar
selective accumulation being shown in experimentally induced skin suction blis- ters
(Seideman et al. 1994 ). The patterns of synovial fluid
accumulation of the enantiomers follows that of the peak plasma levels with broad peaks of
R( - ) and S( ? ) ibu- profen at about 2–4 h and extending to about 12–15 h (Seideman et al.
1994 ) thus showing persistence of the enantiomers in synovial fluids well past those of the
peak plasma concentrations of these enantiomers. As with many other NSAIDs inter-subject
variability is a common feature of the pharmacokinetics of ibuprofen (Wagener and Vogtle-
Junkert 1996 ) which does not relate to variation in the rates of inversion of R( - )toS( ? ) ibu-
profen (Geisslinger et al. 1993 ). The kinetics of the enantiomers appears similar after
multiple compared with single dosage of the racemate (Cox et al. 1991 ). Synovial fluid
concentrations of the enantiomers vary less than those in plasma and plasma values after
about 5.5 h; it being inferred from pharmacokinetic analysis that the accumu- lation is
primarily of protein bound drug (Day et al. 1988 ). Non-bound (to albumin) NSAID
concentrations (i.e. free) are generally considered to be those which are phar- macologically
relevant to the actions of these drugs as well as being of relevance to the untoward effects of
drug–drug interactions where toxic effects of NSAIDs or other drugs relate to displacement
of one or other following binding to albumin or other plasma proteins. As with many
NSAIDs most of which bind to plasma proteins to around 99%, ibuprofen also is strongly
bound to albumin (Brocks and Jamali 1999 ; Graham and Hicks 2004). The binding of
ibuprofen in plasma compared with synovial fluids depends on the concentrations of albumin
in these compartments (Wanwimolruk et al. 1983 ). There are differences in the affinity of
S(?) compared with R(-) ibuprofen for binding on human serum albumin; there being two
binding sites for both ibuprofen enantiomers of varying
affinity (Hage et al. 1995 ; Itoh et al. 1997 ) with some evidence of allosteric cooperative
binding at high concen- trations of S( ? ) ibuprofen (Hage et al. 1995 ). There may be greater
binding of S( ? ) ibuprofen to the site II (diazepam) binding site of albumin (Cheruvallath et
al.1997). Ibuprofen accumulates in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients (undergoing
lumbar puncture for treatment of nerve root compression) with the AUC’s of the R and S
enantio- mers in the CFS being 0.9 and 1.5% those in plasma, respectively (Bannwarth et al.
1995 ). The estimated t ½ ’s were 3.9 and 7.9 h for the R( - ) and S( ? ) enantiomers
(compared with 1.7 and 2.5 h in plasma). The pathological
condition being treated in these patients involves neuro- inflammatory reactions with
associated drug accumulation in the central nervous system, so these observations may have
relevance to central analgesic actions of ibuprofen. Two other routes of metabolism of
ibuprofen which though they do not appear to have clear pharmacological significance have
been considered to be of theoretical significance. Thus, the stereoselective uptake of R( - )
ibuprofen forming mixed hybrid triglycerides as a result of thioester-CoA formation and
subsequent fatty acid metab- olism (Williams et al. 1986 ) has been considered important
though wanting for evidence for its significance either toxicologically or pharmacologically.
The acylation of proteins to form adducts from reaction of acyl glucuronides of ibuprofen
(Castillo et al. 1995 ; Vandenhoeven et al. 2006) may be of relevance for adverse reactions in
the liver analogous to those occurring with some other NSAIDs though evidence for this is
lacking.
In summary, the pharmacokinetic properties of ibupro- fen (Brocks and Jamali 1999 ;
Graham and Williams 2004 ) can be summarized thus:
(1) There are relatively fast rates of absorption of the drug with subsequent ‘‘first pass’’ liver
phase 1 and phase 2 metabolism to well-characterized (a) phenolic and carboxylic acid
derivatives via CYP-2C8, CYP- 2C9 and possibly CYP-2C19 activities, and (b)
conjugates with glucuronic acid and taurine (a minor metabolite).
(2) The biodisposition of ibuprofen reflects high plasma protein binding and low volume of
distribution but with the capacity to be accumulated in appreciable quantities in inflamed
compartments where there is need for anti-inflammatory/analgesic activity (syno- vial
fluids, CSF).
(3) Ibuprofen has a relatively short plasma elimination half-life and although prolonged in
liver and renal diseases this is not so appreciable as to be a factor accounting for higher
frequency of adverse events in patients with these conditions compared with those with
relatively normal hepato-renal functions. Indeed, the short plasma half-life (t1/2) has
been suggested as a factor accounting for relatively low incidence of serious GI events
compared with traditional NSAIDs (bleeding, peptic ulcers) (Henry et al. 1996,1998).
(4) Ibuprofen exhibits approximately linear kinetics to within 1,200 mg dosage or near
compliance with expected kinetics. Thus, when taken up to 1,200 mg repeated doses of
ibuprofen the elimination is not saturated.
(5) Chronic disease states (arthritis) have relatively little impact on the overall kinetics of
ibuprofen. However, acute surgical pain reduces the plasma concentrations of R(-) and
S(? )-ibuprofen which may arise from the stressful conditions of the surgery. This has
been suggested as evidence to necessitate considering dosage adjustment in the therapy
of acute surgical pain on the basis of allowance for increasing dosage to meet adequate
pain control.
(6) The t 1/2, AUC,D and clearance kinetics of conven- tional ibuprofen tablets suggest that
the usual dosage regime of either 400 mg t.i.d. for OTC use or 400– 800 mg t.i.d. or q.i.d.
as appropriate for prescription use to 2,400 mg daily. Extended-release formulations that
have been developed could enable twice daily dosage to limits of 1,200 mg day – 1 OTC
or 2,400 mg day – 1 prescription requirements.
Pharmacokinetics in children
Before considering some of the factors affecting the PK of ibuprofen in young adults
and children it is useful to consider some of the differences in drug metabolism and
disposition in these groups. Physiological development in neonates, infants and children
has considerable impact on the absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination
(ADME) of drugs (Kearns and Reed 1989 ). Among the notable differences in drug
disposition between infants and children compared with neonates and young adults are
the decline in total body water (TBW), increase in intracellular water (ICW) and reduced
extracellular water (ECW) that occurs post-natally up to about 1–2 years with subsequent
variable increases in TBW and ICW up to about 25 years where upon those in males are
greater than in females (Kearns and Reed 1989 ). Likewise, fat content increases post-
natally up to about 1 year, plateaus to mid-teens then declining until mid 20s where upon
differences occur between the sexes with females having greater body fat than males
(Kearns and Reed 1989 ). These changes in body composition along with plasma protein
concentrations will have marked effects on the volume of distribution of drugs. Protein
binding of drugs is influenced by a variety of fac- tors and the total concentration of
plasma proteins is decreased in the neonate and infant compared with that in children
(Kearns and Reed 1989 ). Age-related changes in hepatic biotransformation are evident
from the neonatal period where they are not developed and approximate adult values by
about 6 months (Kearns and Reed 1989 ). Thus, Phase I hepatic transformation
progressively increases to near adult values by 6 months of age (Kearns and Reed 1989 ;
Kearns 1993 ). Glucuronidation increases from ± 10 days to 2 months while conjugation
with amino acids increases from ± 10 days to 3 months (Kearns and Reed 1989 ;
Strassburg et al. 2002 ). These physiological factors have considerable significance in the
age-related pharmacoki- netics of paracetamol and NSAIDs in children (Walson and
Mortensen 1989 ; Jacqz-Aigrain and Anderson 2006 ). Changes (usually as increased
values) of t1/2,VD, and C of these drugs occur progressively from the neonatal period to
1–3 years, whereupon they often (but not always) assume adult values. Of particular
relevance is the pos- sibility that the febrile state which is often treated with
analgesics/NSAIDs can influence drug metabolism and biodisposition as a consequence
of release of cytokines [e.g. interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumour necrosis factor- A (TNF- a)]
during infections which are pyrogenic and alter drug metabolism. The pharmacokinetics
and what is known of the phar- macodynamic properties of ibuprofen in \ 12 year
children can be considered to be similar to that of young-middle aged adults in whom
most investigations have been per- formed. A possible caveat to this application of adult
pharmacokinetics to that in children/infants ( \12 year) might be related to differences in
growth rates thus affecting body mass and gender affecting hormonal regu- lation of drug
metabolizing enzymes. With the exception of the conversion of R( -)-ibuprofen to its S( ?
) enantiomer the pharmacokinetic parameters of ibuprofen in children are comparable
with those in adults . It appears that the rate of conversion of R(-) ibuprofen is lower in
children than it adults (Table 2 ). In a study in 11 infants (6–18 months) the plasma levels
of the S( ?) enantiomer of ibuprofen were lower than in adults while the values for T ½
for R( - ) and S( ? ) ibuprofen are within the range of those expected in older children or
adults (Kauffman and Nelson 1992 ; see also Jacqz-Aigrain and Anderson 2006 ). It is
suggested that the relatively low levels of S( ? ) ibuprofen argue for a higher dosage of
ibuprofen in infants. Other appreciable changes in paediatric populations have been
observed in young children aged less than 5 years where the clearance (CL/F) and
volume of distri- bution ( V D /F) may be less than that in adults or older children and the
plasma half-life of elimination ( t ½ ) pro- longed to about twice that in adults or older
children (Jacqz-Aigrain and Anderson 2006) (Table3).Given these provisos it should be
possible to describe the pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) properties of
ibuprofen in \ 12 year olds as in general being related to the information that is available
in adults. A few PK studies have been performed in children that overlap the 12–18 year
age group suffice to conclude that, in general, the PK properties are similar to those in
adults. Less is known about PD properties in the young (12– 18 year) except that dose-
related pain relief is similar in young adults to that in younger children and also in older
adults. This suggests that the PD properties of ibuprofen shown in studies in adult
populations, and supported by in vitro as well as animal model investigations are likely to
be similar in all age groups. Some pharmacokinetic parameters for ibuprofen in chil- dren
of various ages are shown in Table 3 . In essence, the major overall features that vary in
children compared with young to mid-aged adults are (1) the greater proportion of the S(
? )-enantiomer compared with the R( - )-form in plasma, and (2) the greater variation in t
½ (Autret-Leca 2003 ; Jacqz- Aigrain and Anderson 2006 ). The V D for S( ? ) ibuprofen
in children is greater than in adults (Kelley et al. 1992 ) and may reflect a higher unbound
fraction in plasma compared with that of R(-) ibuprofen (Brocks and Jamali 1999 ).
Inspection of Table 3 shows that the T ½ and VD of ibuprofen in patients receiving i.v.
drugs is about 25-fold higher than from orally-administered ibuprofen yet there is the
same order of elimination and distribution of oral ibuprofen from an early age of about
0.5 year; thereafter the t ½ And V D are within the range of that in adults. The rates of
clearance are, however, greater in young children up to about 5 years and decline in
higher age groups and are appreciably lower in i.v. administered infants (Table 3 ).
Ibuprofen has lower glomerular filtration in premature infants and this may be a factor
accounting for higher t ½ and V D in this group compared with that in adults.
Rectal pharmacokinetics
4. Farmakokinetik rektal
Pertimbangan fisiologis dan farmasi mendasar dalam pemberian obat oleh rute rektal
Obat dalam supositoria yang diberikan oleh rute rektal ditempatkan dalam kontak intim
dengan mukosa rektum yaitu pH 7,2-7,4 dan memiliki penghalang lipoid (Florence dan
Attwood 1998). Supositoria bersentuhan dengan membran mukosa ampula rektum yang
terdiri dari lapisan sel epitel tanpa villi (Florence dan Attwood 1998). Pasokan darah utama
ke rektum berada pada arteri dubur atau hemoroid superior sementara penyerapan obat terjadi
melalui jaringan vena pleksus submukosa yang kemudian menjadi inferior, tengah dengan
rektum dubur superior. Dua urat terakhir terhubung ke pembuluh darah portal dan dengan
demikian mengangkut obat langsung ke hati. Vena inferior memasuki vena cava inferior dan
dengan demikian melewati liver. Proporsi obat yang diserap oleh dua rute vena ini
bergantung pada sejauh mana supositoria bermigrasi dalam bentuk aslinya atau cair ke dalam
saluran usus. Dengan demikian, ini bisa bervariasi dan obat yang diberikan secara rektum
mungkin tidak melewati hati (Florence dan Attwood 1998).