Absorption of phenolsulfonphthalein as a model across the mesenteric surface in rats to determine the drug absorption route after intraperitoneal administration.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the absorption characteristics of a drug across the mesenteric surface, which occupies a large area of absorption in the peritoneal cavity, in order to determine the drug absorption route after intraperitoneal administration. Absorption of phenolsulfonphthalein (PSP) as a model after application to the mesenteric surface was investigated in rats by employing a cylindrical diffusion cell attached to the mesentery with or without blood vessels. PSP was absorbed from the rat mesenteric surface, followed by its appearance in the plasma and bile, regardless of blood vessel existence. The absorption ratios of PSP in 6 h were calculated to be 92.1 and 83.6% from the mesenteric surface with and without blood vessels, respectively. We then employed an experimental system in which a polyethylene (PE) cap was stuck on the surface of the other side to exclude the influence of absorption of the drug from the other organ surfaces that penetrated across the mesentery. The PE cap decreased the appearance of PSP in the plasma from the mesenteric surface with blood vessels and eliminated the PSP absorption completely from the mesenteric surface without blood vessels. Accordingly, blood vessels on the mesenteric surface must actually play an important role in drug absorption, but the contribution of the mesenteric surface to drug absorption from the peritoneal cavity is unlikely to be significant because there is a small effective area of blood vessels.