Bioavailability of various preparations and doses of penicillin V

Summary

An absorption study was performed in ten healthy volunteers to test the bioavailability of various doses of two penicillin V-K preparations: Isocillin^® (Hoechst AG, Federal Republic of Germany), — tablets of 600 000 and 1.2 Mega U; V-Cillin^® (Eli Lilly, USA), — tablets of 200 000, 400 000 and 800 000 U. The serum concentrations and elimination of the active substance in urine were measured for six hours after administration. Independently of the source of the preparation, a strict linear relation between the dose and the area under the serum curve (AUC), or between the dose and the urinary elimination, was demonstrated by regression analysis. The dose-dependent increase in the AUC was highly significant (p<0.01) in the range tested, i.e. between 200 000 and 1.2 Mega U. The relative elimination of active substance in urine lay within narrow limits for all doses (35.7–41.3%). Thus, both compounds proved to have the same bioavailability.