Effect of food on hepatic blood flow: implications in the "food effect" phenomenon.

It has been suggested that alteration in the apparent oral bioavailability of propranolol taken with food may be due to a transient increase in QH. To investigate this hypothesis more closely, the time course of effect of a high-protein meal on QH was examined with the model compound ICG. Forty minutes postprandial, the mean increase in estimated QH was 69% above the control. QH was still elevated a mean of 36% at 100 min but by 280 min had decreased to a value that did not differ from control. Computer simulations were performed to predict the magnitude of change in the apparent oral bioavailability of propranolol that would be expected based on the observed QH changes. These simulations suggest that simple changes in QH alone cannot account for the increase in apparent oral bioavailability when propranolol is taken with food.