Abstract
The sites and mechanisms of digoxin absorption in man are unknown. We have studied the fate of digoxin in the stomach by adding3H digoxin to an aqueous meal of 10% glucose and phenol red. The human stomach absorbed3H digoxin which was not changed by gastric digestion. This process appeared to contribute to the entry of tritium radioactivity into the serum within 5 minutes after intragastric administration. Gastric absorption was reduced in the presence of gastritis or gastric ulcer. Although 9 of 13 patients exhibited gastric absorption of3H digoxin, the stomach did not appear to be a major site of absorption in these studies.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hunt JN: The inhibitory action of sucrose on gastric digestive activity in patients with peptic ulcer. Guy's Hosp Rep 103:161–173, 1954
Doherty JE, Perkins WH, Mitchell GK: Tritiated digoxin studies in human subjects. Arch Intern Med 108:531–539, 1961
Cooke AR, Birchall A: Absorption of ethanol from the stomach. Gastroenterology 57:269–272, 1969
Cooke AR, Hunt JN: Absorption of acetylsalicylic acid from unbuffered and buffered gastric contents. Amer J Dig Dis 15:95–102, 1970
Davenport HW: Ethanol damage to canine oxyntic glandular mucosa. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 126:657–662, 1967
Doherty JE: The distribution and concentration of tritiated digoxin in human tissues. Ann Intern Med 66:116–124, 1967
Jelliffe RW: Personal communication
Rhodes T, Bernardo DE, Phillips SF, et al: Increased reflux of bile into the stomach in patients with gastric ulcer. Gastroenterology 57:241–252, 1969
Hunt JN, Spurrell WR: The pattern of emptying of the human stomach. J Physiol 113:157, 1951
Greenberger NJ, MacDermott RP, Martin JF, et al: Intestinal absorption of six tritium-labeled digitalis glycosides in rats and guinea pigs. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 167:265–273, 1969
Truelove SC, Reynell PC: Diseases of the Digestive System. Philadelphia, FA Davis and Co, 1963, p 132
Hunt JN, Pathak JD: The osmotic effects of some simple molecules and ions on gastric emptying. J Physiol 154:254, 1960
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Supported in part by USPHS Research Grant HE 06642-07, and Burroughs-Wellcome and Co, Inc. Tuckahoe, NY.
The authors wish to thank Jacquelyn Gammill, BS, MT (ASCP) and Joyce Sherwood, BS, MT (ASCP) for their technical assistance.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hall, W.H., Doherty, J.E. Tritiated digoxin XVI. Digest Dis Sci 16, 903–908 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02238171
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02238171