Metabolism of sulpiride in man and rhesus monkeys.

The metabolism of 14C-carbonyl-sulpiride (form A) and of 14C-3, 4 pyrrolidine-sulpiride (form B) was studied in the rhesus monkey and man. In the monkey, the metabolites in both the urine and the bile were the same with form A and form B: 60-80% sulpiride, 10-30% 5-oxopyrrolidine sulpiride and 3-8% an unidentified metabolite (ME-X). In four human volunteers given a single oral dose of either 108 mg form A or 100 mg form B, more than 95% of the 14C recovered in the urine and feces was unchanged sulpiride. Sulpiride levels in plasma reached maximum in 3 hr and ranged from 232 to 403 ng/ml. The plasma t1/2 was 8.3 hr. Pharmacokinetic analyses indicated little or no biliary excretion of sulpiride in man.