The effects of salicylate on the rectal absorption of phenylalanine and some peptides, and the effects of these peptides on the rectal absorption of cefoxitin and cefmetazole.

The disappearance of phenylalanine and phenylalanylglycine from a perfusate circulated across rat rectal tissue was enhanced significantly in the presence of salicylate or 5-methoxysalicylate at pH 4.5, 7.4, and 8.5. The disappearance of di-, tri-, and tetraphenylalanine from a perfusate at pH 7.4, although facilitated by the presence of salicylate and 5-methoxysalicylate, was also fairly substantial when no adjuvant was present. These peptide analogues of phenylalanine also enhanced the rectal absorption of cefoxitin and cefmetazole, two highly water soluble antibiotics. Phenylalanine and phenylalanylglycine, both poorly absorbed across the rectal membrane when administered alone, did not enhance the rectal absorption of either antibiotic.