Correlation of serum aspirin esterase activity and half-life of salicylic acid.

An inverse correlation was found between the serum aspirin esterase activity in human subjects and the biological half-life of salicylic acid in serum and a direct relationship between the values of the elimination rate constant and the activity of this enzyme. The rate of acetylsalicylic acid breakdown may be one of the factors which influences the biological half-life of salicylates in the organism and may participate also in determining the individual response to the administered drug.