A comparative pharmacokinetic study was conducted to determine the order and the rate of absorption of triclabendazole (TCBZ)
in cattle and sheep. A commercial suspension of TCBZ (Biofasiolex, Biogénesis S.A., Argentina) was administered at a dose
rate of 10 mg/kg by the oral route to six Holstein female calves and six Corriedale female sheep. The plasma concentration
profiles of the metabolites triclabendazole sulfoxide (TCBZ-SO) and triclabendazole sulfone (TCBZ-SO
2) were analysed by means of the non-compartmental method. The order of the absorption process of the active metabolite, TCBZ-SO,
was determined by construction of curves of cumulative absorbed fraction of the drug by means of the Wagner-Nelson method.
The appearance of TCBZ-SO in plasma of cattle and sheep resembles the entry of a constant quantity of drug into the organism
per unit time. This is explained by the reservoir effect of the rumen, which acts as a biological slow-release system for
TCBZ-SO and its precursor TCBZ to the posterior digestive tract where they are absorbed. The plasma concentration profiles
of TCBZ-SO in both species were well described by a one-compartment open model with zero-order process of absorption and first-order
process of elimination. The values of AUC
0-∞ and
C
max of TCBZ-SO did not differ between species, while other kinetic parameters except for λ
z
had higher values in calves than in sheep. In the case of TCBZ-SO
2,
t
max was the only parameter that did not differ between species, while other kinetic parameters except for λ
z
had higher values in calves than in sheep.
Keywords
Absorption - Cattle - Pharmacokinetics - Triclabendazole - Sheep