Gastrointestinal transit and systemic absorption of captopril from a pulsed-release formulation

Captopril has been administered to eight healthy male subjects by means of a pulsatile delivery system that was designed to release the drug in the colonic region of the intestine. The gastrointestinal transit and pulsatile release were followed using gamma scintigraphy. A pulsatile capsule system with release after a nominal 5-hr period was found to perform reproducibly in vitro and in vivo. In six of the eight subjects, the drug was delivered to the colon, and in the remaining two subjects, to the terminal ileum. Measurable blood levels of free captopril were found in three subjects. Variable instability of the drug in the distal intestine is suggested as a possible reason for the lack of absorption of the drug in the majority of subjects.