Gastrointestinal absorption of quinidine from some solutions and commercial tablets.

The gastrointestinal absorption of quinidine from three commercially available tablet products has been compared to that from a quinidine sulfate solution previously found to have 70% of the systematic availability of an intravenous dose. Quinidine gluconate solution was included in the study to compare the absorption characteristics of the two quinidine salts. The tablets were given in a counterbalanced sequence preceded by one quinidine solution and followed by the other in a crossover design. The three tablets proved to be equivalent to one another with respect to extent and rate of absorption. The absorption properties of the two solutions were indistinguishable. The tablets were equivalent to the solutions in extent but not in rate of absorption.