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Planta Med 2020; 86(17): 1278-1285
DOI: 10.1055/a-1212-5475
Pharmacokinetic Investigations
Original Papers

Pharmacokinetics and Safety of Mitragynine in Beagle Dogs

Elizabeth A. Maxwell
1   Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
,
Tamara I. King
2   Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
,
Shyam H. Kamble
2   Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
3   Translational Drug Development Core, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
,
Kanumuri Siva Rama Raju
2   Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
3   Translational Drug Development Core, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
,
Erin C. Berthold
2   Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
,
Francisco León
4   Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
,
Bonnie A. Avery
2   Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
3   Translational Drug Development Core, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
,
Lance R. McMahon
5   Department of Pharmacodynamics, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
,
Christopher R. McCurdy
3   Translational Drug Development Core, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
4   Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
,
Abhisheak Sharma 
2   Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
3   Translational Drug Development Core, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
› Author AffiliationsSupported by: National Institute on Drug Abuse R01 DA047855
Supported by: National Institute on Drug Abuse UG3 DA048353
Supported by: National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences UL1TR001427
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Abstract

Mitragynine is the most abundant psychoactive alkaloid derived from the leaves of Mitragyna speciosa (kratom), a tropical plant indigenous to regions of Southeast Asia. Mitragynine displays a moderate affinity to opioid receptors, and kratom is often self-prescribed to treat pain and/or opioid addiction. The purpose of this study was to investigate the safety and pharmacokinetic properties of mitragynine in the dog. Single dose oral (5 mg/kg) and intravenous (0.1 mg/kg) pharmacokinetic studies of mitragynine were performed in female beagle dogs. The plasma concentrations of mitragynine were measured using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a tandem mass spectrometer, and the pharmacokinetic properties were analyzed using non-compartmental analysis. Following intravenous administration, mitragynine showed a large volume of distribution (Vd, 6.3 ± 0.6 L/kg) and high clearance (Cl, 1.8 ± 0.4 L/h/kg). Following oral mitragynine dosing, first peak plasma (Cmax, 278.0 ± 47.4 ng/mL) concentrations were observed within 0.5 h. A potent mu-opioid receptor agonist and active metabolite of mitragynine, 7-hydroxymitragynine, was also observed with a Cmax of 31.5 ± 3.3 ng/mL and a Tmax of 1.7 ± 0.6 h in orally dosed dogs while its plasma concentrations were below the lower limit of quantification (1 ng/mL) for the intravenous study. The absolute oral bioavailability of mitragynine was 69.6%. Administration of mitragynine was well tolerated, although mild sedation and anxiolytic effects were observed. These results provide the first detailed pharmacokinetic information for mitragynine in a non-rodent species (the dog) and therefore also provide significant information for allometric scaling and dose predictions when designing clinical studies.

Key words

mitragynine - 7-hydroxymitragynine - absolute bioavailability - pharmacokinetics - kratom - Mitragyna speciosa - Rubiaceae

Supporting Information

    Isolation of mitragynine, synthesis of 7-hydroxymitragynine, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, 2D HSQC, and UHPLC-PDA-Q-TOF spectrometric analysis, representative chromatograms of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, and concentration-time profiles for the oral study are available as Supporting Information.

  • Supporting Information


Publication History

Received: 31 March 2020

Accepted after revision: 29 June 2020

Article published online:
21 July 2020

© 2020. Thieme. All rights reserved.

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