Human plasma and skin blister fluid levels of griseofulvin after its repeated administration.

Griseofulvin was administered orally to 6 healthy volunteers for 6 days. The subjects received 500 mg of a microsize formulation and 330 mg of an ultramicrosize formulation, according to a cross-over design. The drug was determined in plasma, suction blister fluid (SBF) and cantharides blister fluid (CBF) following the last dose. Urinary excretion of the main metabolites 6-demethylgriseofulvin (6-DMG) and its glucuronic acid conjugate was also measured. The pharmacokinetic parameters were compared with those obtained from a recent single dose experiment. On repeated administration, the bioavailability of griseofulvin was significantly lower from the microsize formulation; the urinary recovery of total 6-DMG was 33.8% versus 53.6% on administration of the ultramicrosize material. Bioavailability was reduced as compared to ingestion of a single dose. The reduction was more prominent following the microsize (36%) than the ultramicrosize (17%) formulation. Penetration into skin blister fluid was not altered as compared to the single dose experiment. Relative areas under the blister fluid-time curves amounted to 51% (SBF) and 80% (CBF) of the area under the plasma level-time curve. The concentration of unbound griseofulvin in these body fluids was identical throughout the entire dosage interval. Unbound griseofulvin levels were low in comparison with the minimum inhibitory concentrations for strains of trichophyton and microsporum.