Effects of semi-solidification of enteral nutrients on the pharmacokinetic behavior of orally administered carbamazepine in rats

The use of semi-solid enteral nutrients plays an extremely important role in accurate nutrition management. In the present study, we compared the pharmacokinetic profile of orally administered carbamazepine (CBZ) in rats treated with liquid RACOL(®), semi-solid RACOL(®), and HINE E-gel(®), which are enteral nutrients marketed in Japan. Since liquid and semi-solid formulations are both marketed in Japan for RACOL(®), liquid RACOL(®) was orally administered to control rats. The serum concentration of CBZ at each sampling point was lower in the semi-solid RACOL(®)-treated group than in the liquid RACOL(®)-treated group. No significant differences were observed in the pharmacokinetic behavior of CBZ between the semi-solid RACOL(®)-treated and HINE E-gel(®)-treated groups. Regarding pharmacokinetic parameters, the impact of the area under the curve (AUC(0→5h)) was the liquid RACOL(®) group > the semi-solid RACOL(®) group ≈ the HINE E-gel(®) group. Therefore, we concluded that serum concentrations of CBZ were lower when concurrently treating with semi-solid enteral nutrients than when simultaneously processing liquid enteral nutrients.