Absorption enhancement of rectally infused cefoxitin sodium by medium-chain fatty acids in conscious rats: concentration-effect relationship.

The objective of this study was to assess the relative absorption promoting potency in terms of concentration-effect relationships of the medium-chain fatty acids hexanoic acid, octanoic acid, decanoic acid, and dodecanoic acid in conscious rats, using cefoxitin sodium as the rectally delivered model compound. Rectal uptake of cefoxitin, which was absorbed to a limited extent without enhancer (30 +/- 25%), proved to be significantly enhanced by 2.0 M sodium hexanoate, 0.69 M sodium octanoate, and 0.22 M sodium decanoate, resulting in mean bioavailabilities of 102 +/- 24, 68 +/- 25, and 68 +/- 10%, respectively. Thus, increasing fatty acid chain length results in increased enhancing potency from hexanoic acid to decanoic acid. However, using dodecanoate a statistically significant effect could not be reached, because of its limited aqueous solubility. Optimal chain length for absorption enhancement by medium-chain fatty acids is probably determined by interplay of intrinsic effects on mucosal permeability and solubility of the medium-chain fatty acid.