Pharmacokinetics of indomethacin octyl ester (prodrug) and indomethacin produced from the prodrug.

A prodrug of indomethacin, indomethacin octyl ester (IM-OE), was synthesized and its pharmacokinetics was investigated in rat. To describe the time course of the plasma indomethacin and IM-OE after intravenous (iv) and oral administrations, a pharmacokinetic model with four compartments was developed. Indomethacin rapidly appeared in plasma after iv administration of IM-OE and declined in a monoexponential manner, with a rapid decline and low plasma levels of IM-OE. The plasma concentrations of indomethacin after oral administration of IM-OE were much lower than those after oral administration of indomethacin. The high concentrations of IM-OE compared with indomethacin were detected in liver 3 h after oral dosing of the prodrug, although IM-OE was not detected in plasma. A good fit was obtained between the observed and calculated curves based on the model, which includes a conversion rate constant of IM-OE to indomethacin for both iv and oral dosings of IM-OE. Additionally, the model could successfully describe the plasma concentration versus time profiles after indomethacin dosings.