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                            Original Research
                            
                            
                            9. 
                            
                            Pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of 
                            tulathromycin following intravenous, intramuscular 
                            and subcutaneous administrations in healthy rabbits - 
                            K Abo-El-Sooud, N A Afifi, A M Abd El-Aty
                            Vet World. 2012; 5(7): 424-428
              
               
              
              doi: 
              10.14202/vetworld.2012.424-428
              
              
               
              
              
              
   
 
              
               
               
               
              
              
              Abstract
              
              
                            Aim: 
                            This work was performed to investigate the 
                            pharmacokinetics of the triamilide antibiotic, 
                            tulathromycin in healthy rabbits. 
              
                             Materials and 
                            Methods: Ten rabbits in each group were given a 
                            single dose of 2.5 mg/kg body weight (bw) of 
                            tulathromycin via intravenous (IV), intramuscular 
                            (IM) and subcutaneous (SC) administrations. The 
                            concentration of tulathromycin in plasma was 
                            determined by microbiological assay Bacillus 
                            subtilis ATCC 6633 as the test organism. 
              
                             Results: 
                            Following IV administration, the total body 
                            clearance (Cltot) was 321.70 ml/kg.h, the volume of 
                            distribution at steady-state (Vdss) was 13.26 L/kg 
                            and the value of the elimination half-life (t1/2β) 
                            was 29.29 h. After SC administration, the 
                            elimination half-life (t1/2el), mean residence time 
                            (MRT) and maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) were 
                            significantly higher (36.22 h, 52.54 h and 882.19 ng/ml) 
                            than after IM route (31.69 h, 45.89 h and 714.72 ng/ml), 
                            respectively. Tulathromycin was bound to the extent 
                            of 36% to plasma protein of healthy rabbits. The 
                            absolute bioavailabilities were 88.07 and 94.25% 
                            after IM and SC injections. 
              
                             Conclusion: Thus 
                            a single dose of tulathromycin is promising 
                            treatment for most respiratory disease in rabbits.
                            Keywords: Pharmacokinetics, tulathromycin, 
                            bioavailability, rabbits.