Pharmacokinetics and milk penetration of orbifloxacin after intravenous, subcutaneous, and intramuscular administration to lactating goats.

The single-dose disposition kinetics of orbifloxacin were determined in clinically normal lactating goats (n = 6) after intravenous, subcutaneous, and intramuscular administration of 2.5 mg of orbifloxacin/kg of body weight. Orbifloxacin concentrations were determined by HPLC with fluorescence detection. The concentration-time data were analyzed by compartmental and noncompartmental kinetic methods. Steady-state volume of distribution and clearance of orbifloxacin after intravenous administration were 1.13 +/- 0.08 L/kg and 0.40 +/- 0.11 L/h x kg, respectively. Following subcutaneous and intramuscular administration, orbifloxacin achieved maximum plasma concentrations of 1.85 +/- 0.20 and 1.66 +/- 0.14 mg/L at 1.25 +/- 0.22 and 0.87 +/- 0.38 h, respectively. The absolute bioavailabilities after subcutaneous and intramuscular routes were 108.96 +/- 17.61% and 105.01 +/- 15.61%, respectively. Orbifloxacin penetration from the blood into the milk was rapid and showed high levels of concentrations in milk secretion. From this data, orbifloxacin could have success against susceptible mastitis pathogens in goats.