Mean residence time of oral drugs undergoing first-pass and linear reversible metabolism.

Equations for the mean residence times in the body (MRT) and AUMC/AUC of a drug and its metabolite have been derived for an oral drug undergoing first-pass and linear reversible metabolism. The mean residence times of the drug or interconversion metabolite in the body after oral drug are described by equations which include the mean absorption time (MAT), the mean residence times of the drug or metabolite in the body after intravenous administration of the drug, the fractions of the dose entering the systemic circulation as the parent drug and metabolite, and the systemically available fractions of the drug (Fpp) or metabolite (Fpm). Similarly, the AUMC/AUC of the drug and metabolite after oral drug can be related to the MAT, ratios of the fraction of the dose entering the systemic circulation to the systemically available fraction, the first-time fractional conversion of each compound, and AUMC/AUC ratios after separate intravenous administration of each compound. The Fpp and Fpm values, in turn, are related to the first-pass availabilities of both drug and metabolite and the first-time fractional conversion fractions. The application of these equations to a dual reversible two-compartment model is illustrated by computer simulations.