Dual effects of trimebutine on electrical responses of gastric smooth muscles in the rat

Effects of trimebutine maleate on colonic motility through Ca²+-activated K+ channels and L-type Ca²+ channels

The effects of trimebutine maleate (TM) on spontaneous contractions of colonic longitudinal muscle were investigated in guinea pigs. The contractile responses of smooth muscle strips were recorded by an isometric force transducer. Membrane and action potentials were detected by an intracellular microelectrode technique. The whole-cell patch clamp recording technique was used to record the changes in large conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (BK(ca)) and L-type Ca(2+) currents in colonic smooth muscle cells. At high concentrations (30, 100, and 300 μM), TM inhibited the amplitude of spontaneous contractions. At low concentrations (1 and 10 μM), TM attenuated the frequency and tone of smooth muscle strips, whereas TM had no influence on the amplitude of spontaneous contractions. TM depolarized the membrane potentials, but decreased the amplitude and frequency of action potentials at high concentrations. TM inhibited BK(ca) and L-type Ca(2+) currents in a dose-dependent manner. In the presence of the BK(ca) channel opener, NS1619, TM also inhibited BK(ca) currents. Bayk8644, a L-type Ca(2+) channel opener, increased L-type Ca(2+) currents. This augmentation was also attenuated by TM. These results suggest that TM attenuates intestinal motility through inhibition of L-type Ca(2+) currents, and depolarizes membrane potentials by reducing BK(ca) currents. Thus, TM may be a multiple-ion channel regulator in the gastrointestinal tract.

Determination of trimebutine in pharmaceuticals by differential pulse voltammetry at a glassy carbon electrode

The differential pulse voltammetric (DPV) determination of trimebutine (TMB) was achieved at a glassy carbon electrode in acetonitrile/0.1 M LiClO4. Trimebutine gave two irreversible, diffusion controlled peaks at 740 and 1318 mV versus Ag/AgCl reference electrode, respectively. The second oxidation peak was used to determine trimebutine concentrations in the range 1-50 microg ml(-1) with a detection limit (3sigmam) of 0.3 microg ml(-1). Precision of the method (RSD, n=6) within- and between-days obtained from six determinations at 5 microg ml(-1) was found to be 0.7 and 1.1%, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the quantitation of TMB in granule dosage form (Debridat) and recoveries between 98.4 and 101% were obtained. Excipients did not interfere with the assay and the results agreed well with those determined by previously established HPLC method.

Quantitative determination of trimebutine maleate and its three metabolites in human plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A sensitive and selective HPLC-MS-MS method was developed for the determination of trimebutine maleate (TM) and its major metabolites N-monodemethyltrimebutine (TM-MPB), N-didemethyltrimebutine (APB) and 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoic acid (TMBA) in human plasma. The analytes were extracted from plasma samples by liquid-liquid extraction and chromatographed on a YMC J'sphere C(18) column. The mobile phase consisted of 2 mM ammonium acetate buffer (pH 6.5)-methanol (20:80, v/v), and at a flow-rate of 0.2 ml/min. Detection was carried out on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer in multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) mode using positive-negative switching electrospray ionization (ESI). The method was validated over the concentration range of 1-100 ng/ml for trimebutine maleate and APB, 1-500 ng/ml for MPB, and 50-10,000 ng/ml for TMBA. Inter- and intra-day precision (RSD%) for trimebutine maleate and its three metabolites were all within +/-15% and the accuracy was within 85-115%. The limit of quantitation was 1 ng/ml for trimebutine maleate, TM-MPB and APB, and 50 ng/ml for TMBA. The extraction recovery was on average 58.2% for trimebutine maleate, 69.6% for MPB, 51.2% for APB and 62.5% for TMBA. The method was applied to the pharmacokinetic study of trimebutine maleate and its metabolites in healthy Chinese volunteers.

Determination of trimebutine maleate in rat plasma and tissues by using capillary zone electrophoresis

A simple and rapid capillary zone electrophoresis method was developed for the determination of trimebutine maleate in rat plasma and tissues. Rat plasma and tissue homogenates were mixed with acetonitrile containing internal standard, ephedrine hydrochloride, and then centrifuged. The supernatant was dried under a stream of nitrogen, and the residue was reconstituted in methanol-water (1:1). The electrophoresis was performed in uncoated capillary with 30 mmol/L phosphate buffer of pH 6.0 as the separation electrolyte. The applied voltage was 10 kV and the UV detection was set at 214 nm. The peak height ratio vs concentration in plasma or homogenates was linear over the range of 5-500 ng/mL and the limit of quantitation was 5 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day precision was RSD < 14% and <15%. The accuracy was relative error (RE) within +/- 14%. This method was applied to studying the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution after a single dose of trimebutine maleate was administrated to the rats. The T(max), AUC, C(max) and t(1/2) were 30 min, 7.8 x 10(2) (ng/mL) min, 39 ng/mL and 1.7 x 10(2) min. The drug distribution was found in a decreasing order of liver, kidney, spleen, lung and heart.

Effects of trimebutine maleate on delayed rectifier K+ currents in guinea-pig ventricular myocytes

The effects of trimebutine maleate, a drug commonly used to regulate motility in the gastrointestinal tract, on the delayed rectifier K+ current (I(K)) were evaluated in guinea-pig ventricular myocytes to determine whether the drug has a proarrhythmic effect through blockade of I(K). Trimebutine decreased I(K) in a concentration-dependent manner. To investigate the effects of trimebutine on two components of I(K) (I(Kr) and I(Ks); rapidly activated and slowly activated components, respectively), we performed the envelope-of-tails test. Trimebutine-sensitive I(K) was determined by digital subtraction of I(K) during exposure to trimebutine from control I(K) for each duration of the test pulse over the range 50 ms-2 s. The ratio of deltaI(K,tail)/deltaI(K) plotted against pulse duration for trimebutine-sensitive I(K) gradually decreased to a steady-state value as the duration of the test pulse was lengthened. This finding suggested a weak inhibitory effect of trimebutine on both I(Kr) and I(Ks). The effects of trimebutine on the inward rectifier K+ current (I(K1)) responsible for the resting potential and final repolarization phase of the action potential were investigated by applying voltage clamp ramps over a broad range of potentials. No significant effects were observed at 10 or 100 microM. We next investigated the effects of the drug on the L-type Ca2+ current (I(Ca)). Significant inhibition of I(Ca) was observed at trimebutine concentrations greater than 10 microM. These results suggested that trimebutine maleate has weak inhibitory effects on I(Kr), I(Ks) and I(Ca) at concentrations much higher than those in clinical use.