Enhancement effect of lauric acid on the rectal absorption of propranolol from suppository in rats.

In a previous paper, we have demonstrated that medium chain fatty acids significantly enhance the in vitro rectal absorption of propranolol (PL) and that the enhancement may be partly due to the formation of a complex with a fatty acid at a 1:1 molar ratio. To confirm in vivo the enhancement effect of lauric acid on PL absorption, PL suppositories with lauric acid at various molar ratios were administered to rat rectum. PL absorption from Witepsol and macrogol suppositories with lauric acid at a 1:1 molar ratio was much larger than that after PL alone and the 1:2 or 1:3 molar ratio ones. The bioavailability (BA) after administration of the 1:1 molar ratio suppository (PL, 4 mg/kg) was 1.6- and 2.1-fold for the Witepsol and macrogol formulations respectively, compared with that after PL alone. A similar result was obtained with the PL solid dispersion suppository with lauric acid at a 1:1 molar ratio, showing a 1.7-fold higher BA compared with PL alone. The release of PL from the macrogol suppository was significantly faster at a 1:1 molar ratio than that of other preparations, but not so in the solid dispersion suppository. There was not good agreement between the release rates of PL from the suppositories and the plasma levels after dosing. These results supported the concept that a portion of PL, by forming a 1:1 complex with lauric acid, would penetrate across the rectal mucosa more easily than PL alone.