Pharmacokinetics of silybin in bile following administration of silipide and silymarin in cholecystectomy patients

Abstract

The biliary excretion of silybin, the main active component of silymarin, was evaluated by using a specific HPLC method in 9 cholecystectomy patients with T-tube drainage following single oral doses of silipide (CAS 134499-06-2), a lipophilic silybin-phosphatidylcholine complex (IdB 1016), and of silymarin (120 mg, expressed as silybin equivalents). After intake of silipide, the concentration of silybin in bile reached a peak within 4 h and declined thereafter with a mean time of about 10 h. After administration of silymarin, biliary silybin concentrations were several-fold lower than those observed after intake of silipide. The bile collected after silymarin-intake also contained considerab..