Pharmacokinetics of Tinidazole in Chinese subjects: comparison of Mongolian, Korean, Hui, Uighur and Han nationalities.

Objective: This study investigated the pharmacokinetics of tinidazole in subjects of five different Chinese nationalities (Han, Mongolian, Korean, Hui, and Uighur).

Methods: Fifty healthy subjects (five male and five female of each nationality) were recruited for the study, and each received 1 g tinidazole. A total of 14 blood samples were collected over a 72-hour period after administration.

Results: Pharmacokinetic profiles, including area under the curve from time zero to infinity (AUC0-inf), peak plasma concentration (Cmax), time to reach Cmax (tmax), oral clearance (CL/F), elimination rate constant (Ke), and elimination half-life (t1/2), were determined following a single oral dose of tinidazole. The respective pharmacokinetic properties of Han, Mongolian, Korean, Hui, and Uighur nationalities were: half-life (h): 16.94+/-2.40, 16.40+/-1.79, 16.63+/-1.82, 16.81+/-1.56, 14.34+/-1.92; Cmax (microg/mL): 19.04+/-2.42, 19.22+/-4.93, 20.83+/-3.33, 20.25+/-4.05, 18.81+/-3.10; AUC0-inf (h*microg/mL): 483.13+/-65.65, 479.70+/-99.74, 511.07+/-53.47, 514.25+/-130.78, 388.58+/-37.37. The t1/2 and AUC0-inf of Uighur subjects were significantly lower (p =0.023, 0.011) and the CL/F and Ke were significantly higher (p = 0.003, 0.013) than those of other nationalities. After normalization by weight, the differences in AUC0-inf and CL/F between Uigur subjects and those of other races were still significant.

Conclusions: The results indicate that ethnicity had significant impact on the pharmacokinetics of tinidazole after a single oral dose in healthy volunteers of different nationalities in China.