Pharmacokinetics and Tissue Residues of Sulfathiazole and Sulfamethazine in Pigs

The plasma pharmacokinetics and tissue penetration of sulfathiazole (ST) and sulfamethazine (SM) after intravenous and intramuscular injection in pigs were studied. Following a single intravenous dose of 40 mg ST/kg of bodyweight or 80 mg SM/kg of bodyweight, the plasma ST and SM concentrations were best fitted to a two-compartment model. The areas under the curve were 447 ± 39 and 1485 ± 41 mg/h/L, clearances were 0.090 ± 0.007 and 0.054 ± 0.001 L/kg/h, volumes of distribution were 1.16 ± 0.16 and 0.77 ± 0.06 L/kg, half-lifes in distribution phase were l.18 ± 0.57 and 0.23 ± 0.16 h and half-lifes in eliminations phase were 9.0 ± l.6 and 9.8 ± 0.6 h. When the two compounds were administered simultaneously as a single intravenous injection, the pharmacokinetic parameters for ST were not significantly different. The values for SM show statistical differences for some important parameters: α, β and the AUC0–>∞ were significantly decreased and t1/2α, Vd and CIB were significantly increased. It can be concluded that after a single intravenous injection of 40 mg/kg, sulfathiazole has a high tl/2β resulting in higher tissue concentrations. This half-life, which is higher than what is reported in the literature, is not influenced by the simultaneous presence of sulfamethazine. The tl/2β for sulfamethazine after a single intravenous injection of 80 mg/kg is comparable to the data from the literature and is not influenced by the presence of sulfathiazole. Sulfathiazole and SM were also administered simultaneously as an intramuscular injection to healthy pigs at a dosage of 40 and 80 mg/kg bodyweight. Pharmacokinetic experiments were conducted on three pigs. From this pharmacokinetic study it can be concluded that upon a single intramuscular administration of 40 mg/kg of ST and 80 mg/kg of SM the absolute bioavailability in pigs is 0.92 ± 0.04 for ST and l.01 ± 0.07 for SM. Six pigs received five intramuscular im) injections as a single dose of ST and SM every 24 h for five consecutive days for the residue study. The pigs were slaughtered at different times after the last dose was given and samples were taken from various tissues and organs. Concentrations were determined by a microbiological method and a HPTLC method. No edible tissue contained more than 100 μg/kg of the individual sulfonamides after 10 days of withdrawal. It means that adult animals which have a shorter half-life and thus lower tissue concentrations will certainly meet the economic community EC) maximum residue limits after a 10 days withdrawal period.