Effect of chlorpromazine on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of pentobarbital in rats.

The effects of chlorpromazine (4 mg/kg i.v.) on the disposition and duration of loss of the righting reflex (LRR, sleeping time) produced by intravenous pentobarbital (5 to 50 mg/kg) were studied in rats. The plasma concentration time profile following i.v. administration of pentobarbital alone was reasonably well described by a three compartment open model with Michaelis-Menten type elimination kinetics. The brain to plasma concentration ratio of pentobarbital was 1.5 and was almost constant during the experiment. Coadministration of chlorpromazine significantly reduced the systemic clearance of pentobarbital. Since pentobarbital is eliminated from the body mainly by hepatic metabolism, reduction of systemic clearance reflects the reduction of hepatic metabolism of pentobarbital. The hepatic intrinsic clearance of pentobarbital was decreased from 0.438 to 0.331 l/h by chlorpromazine coadministration. Hepatic blood flow was also decreased significantly, whereas the plasma protein binding and the distribution to the red blood cell were not appreciably altered. The profile of duration of LRR versus the logarithm of the dose of pentobarbital was linear over a 20 to 70 mg/kg dose range irrespective of chlorpromazine coadministration. The awakening plasma and brain concentrations of pentobarbital without chlorpromazine were estimated as 12.4 micrograms/ml and 17.8 micrograms/g, respectively. The sleeping time versus the logarithm of pentobarbital dose under chlorpromazine coadministration was shifted to the left and the slope of the linear portion was also decreased. There was no single value of awakening plasma or brain concentration. Plasma concentration at the end of the action decreased with decreasing dose. These facts indicated that the sensitivity of the central nervous system to pentobarbital might be increased by chlorpromazine. In conclusion, chlorpromazine inhibited the hepatic metabolism of pentobarbital, resulting in significant increases in plasma and brain concentrations. However, this pharmacokinetic change could not fully explain the pharmacodynamic alternation.