Topical tolerability of salmon calcitonin assessed by mucociliary transport velocity investigation.

The topical tolerability of an intranasal salmon calcitonin spray preparation, of the excipients alone and of sodium taurocholate has been studied by assessment of the mucociliary transport velocity (MTV) on the frog's palate. The rate of mucus transport was investigated in 3 groups of animals (Rana esculenta; 6 frogs per group) in basal conditions and after a challenge with a salmon calcitonin intranasal spray preparation, with the excipients and with sodium taurocholate, respectively. The salmon calcitonin intranasal spray preparation and the excipients did not affect the mucociliary transport velocity on the frog's palate. On the contrary, sodium taurocholate produced severe impairments in the mucociliary transport velocity and histological lesions of the epithelial layer of the frog's palate. The comparison among the mean values of the mucociliary transport velocity before and after treatments showed a significant difference between controls and sodium taurocholate groups (p less than 0.05) as well as among the groups treated with sodium taurocholate versus salmon calcitonin and versus the excipients alone of the calcitonin preparation (p less than 0.05). These findings provide evidence that the salmon calcitonin intranasal spray preparation tested in the present ex vivo model does not affect the mucociliary transport velocity in the frog's palate, while this is markedly affected by sodium taurocholate. The use of sodium taurocholate as a promoter of absorption in intranasal preparations should thus be reconsidered.