Pharmacokinetics of cefquinome in layer birds following intramuscular and intravenous administration

Cefquinome is approved for use against many bacterial infections in a number of animal species. This study was conducted to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of Cefquinome after intramuscular (IM) and intravenous (IV) administration in layer birds for its safety evaluation. Twelve healthy layer birds were randomly allocated in two equal groups. Each group was administered with 5mg/kg b.w. of Cefquinome by intramuscular and intravenous routes. Highly sensitive high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV) method was developed for quantification of Cefquinome in layer bird's plasma with >80% recovery. The Limit of detection and quantification were 0.02 and 0.05μg/ml, respectively. The pharmacokinetic data showed that mean Area under the curve (AUC) after IM and IV administration were 7.838±0.165 and 11.729±0.346h×μg/ml, respectively. The maximum concentration (Cmax) following IM administration (4.525±0.129 μg/ml) was almost same the mean Cmax after IV administration (4.635±0.270μg/ml). Time to reach maximum concentration (Tmax) after IV and IM administration were 0.1h and 0.5h, respectively. Cefquinome sulphate had a relatively shorter half-life (1.19±0.14h) after IV dose administration. The shorter half-life depicts a rapid elimination. Total recovery after each administration was greater than 75%. The mean resident time after IM and IV administration was found to be 1.528±0.09h and 1.988±0.0311h, respectively. The bioavailability after IM administration was 66.84±2.05%. This study indicated that Cefquinome sulphate has favorable pharmacokinetics following both administrations in healthy layer birds which can help to form optimum dosage regimes thus ultimately leading to its use for eradication of various systemic and local infections.