Effect of the timing of food intake on the absorption and bioavailability of carbamazepine immediate-release tablets in beagle dogs

ABSTRACT The effect of dosing time on the bioavailability of carbamazepine immediate‐release (IR) tablets was investigated when administered to beagle dogs who were fasting, with co‐administration of food (Co‐food), and 0.5 h before food and 2 h after food. The study was conducted using a single dose of 200 mg (tablets/solution) with a 2 week washout period in a crossover design. Food intake significantly increased the rate and extent of tablet absorption. The Cmax (µg·ml−1, 8.13/3.65) and tmax (h, 1.83/0.92) were increased more than two‐fold and the AUC0‐24 (µg·h·ml−1, 20.09/8.19) was 2.5 times that of the values obtained under fasting conditions. The bioavailability of the tablets under fasting conditions was 91.2%, but increased to 223.5%, 182.8% and 148.4% in the Co‐food, 0.5 h before food and 2 h after food groups, respectively (p