Pairis-Garcia MD, Johnson AK, Kukanich B, Wulf L, Millman ST et al
Pharmacokinetics of meloxicam in mature swine after intravenous and oral administration.

J Vet Pharmacol Ther, 38(3): 265-270, 2015
ISSN: 0140-7783 Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics (PubMed)

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare the pharmacokinetics of meloxicam in mature swine after intravenous (i.v.) and oral (p.o.) administration. Six mature sows (mean bodyweight +/- standard deviation = 217.3 +/- 65.68 kg) were administered an i.v. or p.o. dose of meloxicam at a target dose of 0.5 mg/kg in a cross-over design. Plasma samples collected up to 48 h postadministration were analyzed by high-pressure liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) followed by noncompartmental pharmacokinetic analysis. Mean peak plasma concentration (C_MAX) after p.o. administration was 1070 ng/mL (645-1749 ng/mL). T_MAX was recorded at 2.40 h (0.50-12.00 h) after p.o. administration. Half-life (T_1/2) for i.v. and p.o. administration was 6.15 h (4.39-7.79 h) and 6.83 h (5.18-9.63 h), respectively. The bioavailability (F) for p.o. administration was 87% (39-351%). The results of this study suggest that meloxicam is well absorbed after oral administration.