Pharmacokinetic Study of Cefixime in the Sheep the and Cattle

In the present work the pharmacokinetic parameters of a new third generation cephalosporin -Cefixime- were evaluated in two species of animals: ovine (the sheep) and bovine (the cattle). One capsule of 400 mg Cefixime was administered to each of six sheep and six cattle in two separate experiments. Plasma concentrations of Cefixime were determined micro-biologically. The pharmacokinetic parameters were computed according to the one-compartment open model of the computer program. The results were statistically analyzed by SPSS program. In the sheep: elimination half-life was 5.96?0.88 hours, clearance 62.48?7.8 L/hour, volume of distribution 4.67?0.61 ml kg-1, area under the plasma concentration curve 6.88?0.78?g hr ml-1, maximum plasma concentration 0.63?0.06?g ml-1 and the time to achieve maximum plasma concentration was 4.8?0.22 hours. In the bovine group: elimination half-life was 13.09?0.81 hours, clearance 47.48?5.03 L/hour, volume of distribution 5.02? 1.77 ml kg-1, area under the plasma concentration curve 8.98?1.07?g hr ml-1, maximum plasma concentration 0.50?0.03?g ml-1 and the time to reach maximum plasma concentration was 2.34?0.51 hours. These finding suggest the rational application of cefixime in veterinary medicine.