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Disposition kinetics, in vitro plasma protein binding and tissue residues of tilmicosin in healthy and experimentally (CRD) infected broiler chickens

Background Several studies assayed the pharmacokinetics of tilmicosin in broilers at a dosage of (25mg/kg.b.wt.). The aim of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics and tissue residues of tilmicosin following single and repeated oral administrations (25mg/kg.b.wt.) once daily for 5 consecutive days in healthy and experimentally Mycoplasma gallisepticum and E. coli infected broilers.

Methods After oral administrations of tilmicosin (25 mg/kg.b.wt.) one ml blood was collected from the right wing vein and tissues samples for determination of tilmicosin concentrations and the disposition kinetics of it by the microbiological assay method using Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633) as a test organism.

Results In this study, the plasma concentration time graph was characteristic of a two-compartments open model. Following a single oral administration, tilmicosin was rapidly absorbed in both healthy and experimentally infected broilers with an absorption half-life of (t0.5(ab)) 0.45 and 0.52h, maximum serum concentration (Cmax) was 1.06 and 0.69μg/ml at (tmax) about 2.56 and 2.81h, (t0.5(el)) was 21.86 and 22.91h and (MRT) was 32.15 and 33.71h, respectively; indicating the slow elimination of tilmicosin in chickens. The in-vitro protein binding was 9.72±0.83%. Serum concentrations of tilmicosin following repeated oral administration once daily for five consecutive days, almost peaked 2h after each dose with lower significant values recorded in experimentally infected broiler chickens than in healthy ones.

Conclusions This study showed that tilmicosin was cleared rapidly from tissues. The highest residue values were recorded in the lung followed by liver and kidneys while the lowest values were recorded in spleen, fat and thigh muscles. Five days for withdrawal period of tilmicosin suggested in broilers.