Bilary and urinary excretion of five cardiac glycosides and its correlation with their physical and chemical properties.

Biliary and urinary excretion of five tritium-labelled cardiac glycosides, i.e. Ouabain, K-strophanthoside, Digoxin, Digitoxin and Deslanatoside C, were investigated in anaesthetized guinea-pigs 5 h after i.v. or enteral administration. Urinary excretion is the main route of elimination in the case of Ouabain and Deslanatoside C. Conversely, biliary excretion is predominant in the case of Digoxin and Digitoxin. K-strophanthoside is excreted both via bile and urine. In conscious guinea-pigs treated i.v. with the same cardiac glycosides the highest levels were observed in urine, bile, kidneys and liver. The relative values of those levels were in agreement with the excretion pattern observed in anaesthetized animals. An inverse linear relation (P less than 0.05) was encountered between biliary excretion rate and polarity of glycoside molecula. This correlation has been previously observed by other authors in other species, but not in the rabbit. This suggests that the correlation may not be considered generally applicable at present.