Gastric Emptying Rate of Drug Preparations. III. Effects of Size of Enteric Micro-Capsules with Mean Diameters Ranging from 0.1 to 1.1 mm in Man

Abstract

The gastric emptying rates of three enteric micro-capsule preparations with mean diameters of 1.1 mm and less (1.1, 0.5 and 0.1 mm) were compared. The gastric emptying rate was evaluated by determining the pharmacokinetic parameters of pyridoxic acid, including V_max (peak excretion rate) and T_max (time to reach peak excretion rate) after oral administration of micro-capsules containing pyridoxal phosphate as a marker drug to five healthy subjects. When given under fasting conditions, the gastric emptying rates of these prepartions, according to T_max, differed significantly; the preparations with smaller particle sizes were emptied from the stomach at a faster rate than those with larger particle sizes. However, under non-fasting conditions the gastric emptying rates were virtually the same, regardless of particle size, and all the preparations were emptied from the stomach at a much slower rate than when administered under fasting conditions.