Metabolic fate of the new angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor imidapril in animals. 3rd communication: tissue accumulation after consecutive oral administration of [N-methyl-14C]-imidapril in rats.

Accumulation characteristics of radioactivity in the organs and tissues, metabolism, and excretion of imidapril hydrochloride ((-)-(4S)-3-(2S)-2-(1S)-1-ethoxycarbonyl-3- phenylpropyl]amino]propionyl]-1-methyl-2-oxoimidazolidine-4-carboxylic acid hydrochloride, imidapril, TA-6366, CAS 89396-94-1), an oral angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, were investigated after consecutive oral administration of N-methyl-14C]-imidapril at a once-daily dose of 1 mg/kg to male rats for 14 days. During the consecutive oral administration, the plasma radioactivity levels at 1 h after each dose reached steady-state following the 3rd to 4th administered dose; this was about 1.4 times higher than the corresponding plasma levels of the first dose. At 24 h after each administration, the plasma levels attained a steady-state at 3-4 days after the beginning of the consecutive dosing. Examination of the time course of plasma radioactivity after the single and multiple (7 and 14 times) oral administration revealed that the Cmax and AUCO-24 h values slightly, but significantly, increased according to repeated dosing and the beta-phase of the t1/2 of disappearance became longer after consecutive dosing. However, these values were not markedly different among consecutive dosing groups. The extent and rate of excretion of radioactivity in the urine and feces were nearly constant during the periods of consecutive oral administration, and were also similar to those after the single oral administration. Total recovery of radioactivity from urine and feces within 96 h after the final dosing was more than 98% of the total dose.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)