Absorption and Excretion of Terramycin in Humans

Abstract

Summary

A study has been made of the absorption, distribution, and urinary excretion of terramycin, aureomycin, and chloramphenicol in humans. The determinations of absorption and excretion of aureomycin and chloramphenicol following a single oral dose of drug were made in the same subjects. All 3 drugs were readily absorbed after oral administration. The maximum serum concentrations attained after oral doses of 50 mg per kilo were 25 to 50 μg per ml for chloramphenicol, 12 to 16 μg per ml for terramycin, and 3.3 to 12.5 μg per ml for aureomycin. Reasonably high serum concentrations of all 3 drugs were maintained with daily doses of 50 to 100 mg per kilo by mouth. Measurable concentrations of the compounds were obtained in the cerebrospinal fluid and in other body fluids when sufficiently large doses of the drugs had been administered. Urinary excretion of the 3 substances in biologically active form was similar, and high concentrations of drug were attained in the urine.