Binding of oxprenolol and propranolol to serum, albumin and alpha 1-acid glycoprotein in man and other species.

Species differences in binding of basic drugs have only occasionally been studied and we have therefore measured the binding of the beta-adrenergic blockers oxprenolol and propranolol in (1) serum of healthy humans, dogs, rats and rabbits and of rabbits with experimental arthritis, (2) a solution of albumin of these species and (3) a solution of human alpha 1-AGP. In humans, dogs, rats and arthritic rabbits, binding of oxprenolol and propranolol was much higher in serum than in albumin solution; in healthy rabbits serum binding was very low and not different from albumin binding. For both drugs, concentration-dependency was seen in serum of dogs, humans and rats and of arthritic rabbits; a similar concentration-dependency was found for human alpha 1-AGP solution, but not for human albumin and for serum of healthy rabbits. Tris (2-butoxyethyl)-phosphate (TBEP), a known displacer of drugs from alpha 1-AGP in humans, decreased binding in serum of all species except the rabbit. For both beta-blockers, species differences in capacity constants were found; species differences in affinity constants were present only for propranolol. These results suggest that in humans, dog and rat, but much less in rabbits, oxprenolol and propranolol bind mainly to alpha 1-AGP and that binding to alpha 1-AGP is more important for oxprenolol than for propranolol.