Emodin pharmacokinetics in rabbits.

Administration of emodin to rabbits by i.v. bolus resulted in a serum profile which could be well described by a two-compartment model. The AUC of emodin was 518 micrograms.min/ml, clearance was 72.3 ml/min, and elimination half life was 227 min which was much longer than that reported in a previous study. Oral administration of emodin resulted in a very low serum concentration. Protein binding of emodin was investigated by the equilibrium dialysis method. Emodin was found to be highly bound (99.6%) to serum protein.