Metabolism and clearance of proxicromil--studies in rat, hamster, rabbit, dog, squirrel monkey, cynomolgus monkey, baboon and man

Proxicromil was extensively metabolized and eliminated as metabolites in urine and faeces by the rat, hamster, rabbit, squirrel monkey, cynomolgus monkey, baboon and man after oral administration. The pathway of metabolism in these species was by hydroxylation of the alicyclic ring principally to yield monohydroxylated metabolites with trace amounts of a dihydroxylated product. Elimination of proxicromil by the dog, however, was essentially as the unchanged drug. The lack of metabolism of the drug by the dog resulted in the dog having a dependence on biliary excretion of the unchanged drug for clearance. These differences in clearance routes between species were reflected in the plasma clearance of the drug. The value for rat, a species capable of metabolism, was approximately 20 fold (4.1 ml min-1 kg-1) greater than the corresponding value for dog (0.2 ml min-1 kg-1). Inhibiting the metabolism of proxicromil in the rat with SKF-525A lowered plasma clearance of proxicromil (0.6 ml min-1 kg-1) and elevated the proportion of unchanged drug cleared by biliary excretion.