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Pharmacokinetics of gallium nitrate after oral administration in adult horses – pilot study
Author(s) -
POLLINA G. F.,
ZAGOTTO G.,
MARITAN P.,
IACOPETTI I.,
BUSETTO R.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of veterinary pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.527
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1365-2885
pISSN - 0140-7783
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2885.2011.01336.x
Subject(s) - pharmacokinetics , oral administration , horse , gallium , zoology , absorption (acoustics) , bone resorption , medicine , resorption , chemistry , pharmacology , endocrinology , biology , materials science , paleontology , organic chemistry , composite material
Pollina, G. F., Zagotto, G., Maritan, P., Iacopetti, I., Busetto, R Pharmacokinetics of gallium nitrate after oral administration in adult horses – pilot study. J. vet. Pharmacol. Therap. 35 , 489–494. Gallium (Ga), a metal in group IIIA of the periodic table, has shown a remarkable activity against bone resorption and could therefore possibly prove useful in the treatment of certain diseases in sport horses, for example navicular disease. The aim of this study was to gain more information concerning the kinetics of Ga after oral administration of gallium nitrate (GaN) in adult horses. Six horses received a single dose of 10 mg/kg of GaN mixed with the food ration. Absorption was slow ( T max = 10 ± 3 h, T ½abs = 2 ± 0.8 h), and a C max of 26 ± 11 μg/L was achieved. Excretion followed a one‐phase elimination model, with a long half‐life ( T ½el = 52 ± 14 h). By means of a mathematical model, we estimated that the plasmatic levels should reach 93 μg/L (1.33 μ m ) at steady state, following the repeated daily administration of 10 mg/kg of GaN. A three times lower concentration has been demonstrated as effective in inhibiting the osteolytic activity of osteoclasts in vitro . The results of this study suggest that the administration of oral GaN at a rate of 10 mg/kg per day may be considered for future clinical studies.