Codeine analgesia is due to codeine-6-glucuronide, not morphine.

Eighty per cent of codeine is conjugated with glucuronic acid to codeine-6-glucuronide. Only 5% of the dose is O-demethylated to morphine, which in turn is immediately glucuronidated at the 3- and 6-position and excreted renally. Based on the structural requirement of the opiate molecule for interaction with the mu-receptor to result in analgesia, codeine-6-glucuronide in analogy to morphine-6-glucuronide must be the active constituent of codeine.

The bioavailability of intramuscularly administered nicomorphine (Vilan) with its metabolites and their glucuronide conjugates in surgical patients.

The kinetics of 20 mg nicomorphine intramuscularly were described in 8 patients under combined general and epidural anesthesia. The half-life of nicomorphine was 0.32 +/- 0.

Pharmacokinetics of epidurally administered nicomorphine with its metabolites and glucuronide conjugates in patients undergoing pulmonary surgery during combined epidural local anaesthetic block and general anaesthesia.

After epidural administration of 15 mg 3, 6-dinicotinoylmorphine (nicomorphine) in 10 patients undergoing pulmonary surgery, the parent compound was quickly metabolized into the metabolites 6-mononicotinoylmorphine and morphine. The mean apparent half-lives (+/- SD) of elimination were 10 min (0.165 h +/- 0.

Rectal administration of nicomorphine in patients improves biological availability of morphine and its glucuronide conjugates.

The pharmacokinetics of 30 mg nicomorphine after rectal administration with a suppository are described in 8 patients under combined general and epidural anaesthesia. No nicomorphine or 6-mononicotinoylmorphine could be detected in the serum. Morphine appeared almost instantaneously with a lag-time of 8 min and had a final elimination half-life of 1.

Morphine and morphine-glucuronide concentrations in plasma and CSF during long-term administration of oral morphine.

Concentrations of morphine, morphine-3-glucuronide (M3G) and morphine-6-glucuronide (M6G) were measured by h.p.l.

Pharmacokinetics of intravenously administered nicomorphine and its metabolites in man.

Intravenous doses of 30, 20 and 10 mg nicomorphine (Vilan) are extremely quickly metabolized into the metabolites 6-nicotinoylmorphine and morphine. The half-lives of elimination are respectively 3 min for nicomorphine, 3 and 15 min for 6-nicotinoylmorphine, and 135-190 min for morphine. The kinetics of the 30 and 20 mg dose are comparable, the 10 mg dose shows patient dependent variations in metabolism.

Direct determination of codeine, norcodeine, morphine and normorphine with their corresponding O-glucuronide conjugates by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the detection, separation and measurement of codeine and its metabolites norcodeine, morphine and normorphine, with their glucuronide conjugates. The glucuronidase Escherichia coli type VIIA hydrolyses codeine-6-glucuronide completely and is used for the construction of the calibration curves of codeine-6-glucuronide. Enzymic hydrolysis of codeine-6-glucuronide depends on the specific activity of the glucuronidase applied.

Pharmacokinetics of nicomorphine and its metabolites in man after epidural administration.

In ten patients who received an epidural injection of 15 mg of nicomorphine, the compound was relatively slowly released from the epidural space and was found in plasma for approximately 1.5 h. Nicomorphine is relatively slowly metabolized into 6-nicotinoylmorphine and morphine.

Pharmacokinetics of intramuscular nicomorphine and its metabolites in man.

After i.m. injection nicomorphine is relatively slowly absorbed from the muscular depot and is found in the serum for approximately 1 h.

High-performance liquid chromatography of xanthines. Effects of N-methyl and C-8 hydroxyl substitution on the retention times.

The capacity factors of 26 xanthine derivatives were measured by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. N-Methyl substitution increased the capacity factor and the related lipid solubility. The descending order of the increase in capacity factor by the N-methyl group is: N-1 methyl greater than N-3 methyl greater than N-7 methyl greater than N-9 methyl.