Plasma and Brain Lithium Levels After Lithium Carbonate and Lithium Chloride Administration by Different Routes in Rats

Summary A study of the absorption and distribution of lithium carbonate and lithium chloride after oral and ip administration has shown that lithium chloride was absorbed more rapidly into the blood than lithium carbonate after ip administration, that lithium chloride given orally is absorbed to a lesser extent than lithium carbonate, and that the patterns of oral and ip absorption of both compounds are similar. We have also shown that the movement of lithium ions into the brain is slow, that only relatively low levels are achieved, and that the lithium brain levels are directly related to and dependant on the magnitude and duration of the plasma levels.