Pharmacokinetics of a Single Dose of Oral and Intramuscular Meloxicam in African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus)

Abstract

Meloxicam is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that has been used orally and intramuscularly in numerous avian species, but not studied to date, in African penguins ( Spheniscus demersus). The study describes the pharmacokinetic parameters of meloxicam after oral and intramuscular administration to African penguins. Several pilot studies were conducted initially where meloxicam (1, 0.5, and 0.25 mg/kg) was given intramuscularly to 4 birds, and orally (1 mg/kg) to 2 birds. Based on pilot study results, one group of 8 penguins was given meloxicam 0.5 mg/kg intramuscularly and one group of 8 penguins was given 1 mg/kg orally. Blood samples were collected at baseline and at 11 time intervals per group after administration of meloxicam. Meloxicam time to maximum plasma concentration (T), maximum concentration (C), and half-life (t) after intramuscular administration were 1.00 hour, 8.03 μg/mL, and 31.87 hours, respectively, while oral administration produced a T, C, and t of 12.00 hours, 10.84 μg/mL, and 28.59 hours, respectively. Based on plasma meloxicam concentrations found to be therapeutic in other bird species and humans, the recommended dosage and frequency for African penguins is 1 mg/kg orally every 48 hours and 0.5 mg/kg intramuscularly every 24 hours. Further studies are needed to determine the multiple-dose pharmacokinetics of meloxicam in African penguins.

Pharmacokinetics and Safety of Intramuscular Meloxicam in Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia guttata)

“…The elimination half-lives of 3.24 h for 1 mg/kg meloxicam and 5.68 h for 2 mg/kg in zebra finches are short relative to those after a single intramuscular dose in Hispaniolan Amazon parrots (15.1 h, 1 mg/kg IM), 10 African grey parrots (35.3 h, 1 mg/kg IM), 12 and African penguins (31.87 h, 0.5 mg/kg IM). 14 Conversely, t 1/2 values in finches were longer than those determined for a single intramuscular dose of meloxicam in American flamingos (1.83 h, 1 mg/kg IM), 2 vultures (0.42 h, 2 mg/kg IM), 15 and lesser flamingos (1.93 h, 0.5 mg/kg IM). 18 Unique properties of protein binding and biotransformation likely influence interspecies differences in meloxicam t 1/2 .…”

“…Figure 1 depicts the mean plasma concentration of meloxicam at 1 and 2 mg/kg plotted against the 5 time points; the dashed horizontal line shows the plasma concentration (3500 ng/mL) considered to provide analgesia in previous reports regarding various bird species. 2,10,12,14 A noncompartmental model was used to estimate the pharmacokinetic parameters presented in Table 1. Neither T max , t 1/2 , nor elimination rate constants differed significantly between the 2 doses.…”

“…This analysis assumed log-linear distribution for the pharmacokinetic parameter, and a P value of 0.05 or less was defined as significant. A plasma concentration of 3500 ng/mL meloxicam, which was determined to be efficacious in Hispaniolan parrots with experimentally induced arthritis 3 and used by other authors, 2,10,12,14 was considered a target level in the current study. Pharmacokinetic analysis was completed by using Phoenix WinNonlin version 8.1 (Certara, Princeton, NJ).…”

Pharmacokinetics of meloxicam, carprofen, and tolfenamic acid after intramuscular and oral administration in Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

“…In the current study, t 1/2ʎz following the oral administration of MLX, CRP, and TA was similar to that after IM administration. The t 1/2ʎz for oral route of MLX in different species was similar with IM route (Molter et al, 2013; Montesinos et al, 2016; Morrison et al, 2018). However, the obvious differences in t 1/2ʎz of MLX, CRP, and TA have been reported among species.…”

Comparative effects of meloxicam and dexamethasone in chickens with experimental systemic inflammation: clinical outcome and cardiovascular parameters

“…It was shown that overdose and long-term administration of anti-inflammatory drugs could induce hematological changes and severe renal damage mediated by oxidative apoptotic proliferative mechanisms and also lead to decreased total antioxidant capacity (Orabi et al 2020;Hashem et al 2021). Anti-inflammatory drug meloxicam shows that preferential inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) has been used as a safe NSAID in numerous avian species in clinical practice (Morrison et al 2018). This drug with proven pharmacokinetic and efficacy is recommended as a feasible and safe option for the treatment of various conditions in different bird species (Guzman et al 2015).…”