The effect of different routes of administration on the metabolism of morphine: the disposition of morphine and its metabolites after topical application.

The disposition of morphine (MOR) and its metabolites in the rabbit was measured after topical administration of its hydrochloride salt (MOR.HCl), and their time course was compared with those after intravenous and oral administration. The area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) ratio of metabolites/MOR after the topical application of MOR.HCl was similar to that after intravenous injection, but differed from that after oral administration. Pharmacokinetic parameters of the disposition of MOR and its metabolites were obtained by a general curve fitting of the time course of plasma concentrations of these compounds after intravenous injection of MOR.HCl and its metabolites, respectively. On the other hand, the time courses of plasma concentrations of the metabolites after intravenous, oral, and topical administration of MOR.HCl were simulated using a simple compartment model without consideration of enterohepatic circulation and the pharmacokinetic parameters obtained as above. The resulting curves of the metabolites agreed well with the observed values except for those after oral administration. These results suggest that no first-pass metabolism of MOR.HCl occurs after percutaneous administration, and that topical administration of this salt is more advantageous than oral administration in terms of bioavailability.