Effects of administration route on pharmacokinetics of aspirin in the rabbit.

The absorption of aspirin used in the form of lysine acetylsalicylate was studied in the rabbit. Each animal received the drug by three routes: intravenous, gastric and duodenal. Plasma concentrations of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and salicylic acid (SA) were compared. ASA plasma concentrations obtained after gastric or duodenal administration were low compared to those after intravenous injection. Concentrations were 2 to 5 times higher after gastric than duodenal administration. SA plasma concentrations were lower at the beginning of the experiment for gastric than for duodenal administration; after 90 min the concentrations were similar. A better absorption of aspirin (as lysine acetylsalicylate) after administration occurred in the stomach than in the duodenum, but the amount of ASA which reached the central compartment was quite poor.