Urinary excretion of methenamine and formaldehyde: evaluation of 10 methenamine products in humans.

The urinary excretion of both methenamine and formaldehyde was measured for 48 hr after the oral administration of 10 different methenamine products to 10 human subjects in a crossover study. The following dosage forms were evaluated: a tablet of methenamine base, a methenamine hippurate tablet, and eight products containing methenamine mandelate, including six enteric-coated tablets, a suspension, and a granule dosage form. The nonenteric-coated dosage forms were absorbed more rapidly, based on maximum excretion rates that occurred within 3 hr after dosing. The enteric-coated tablets, which were designed not to release methenamine until reaching the intestinal tract, exhibited maximum excretion rates that did not occur until 7-17 hr after dosing. There were no significant differences (p greater than 0.05) among products in terms of total excretion of free formaldehyde in the urine. However, large differences (p less than 0.05) were noted among products for urinary recovery of total methenamine, with the amount of administered dose recovered ranging from 16 to 83%.