Pharmacokinetics and absolute bioavailability of salbutamol in healthy adult volunteers.

Salbutamol was administered to sixteen healthy male volunteers intravenously and by mouth in liquid, tablet, and capsule form using a Latin-Squares design. Pharmacokinetic parameters from intravenous data were similar to previously reported values obtained with oral administration, with a mean terminal half-life of 3.8 h and a mean clearance of 439 ml X min-1 X 1.73 m-2. Peak plasma concentrations of 10-20 ng X ml-1 were obtained 1-3 h following oral administration. The absolute bioavailability of each of the oral preparations was 44%. While statistically significant differences in lag time and time to peak concentration were noted among the various oral preparations, the drug is rapidly absorbed in all three dosage forms and the observed differences are unlikely to be of clinical significance.