Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) on the pharmacokinetics of gliclazide (GL). Methods 16 rats were randomly divided into 2 groups, the HBO group and the control group. The 2 groups of animals received gavage of GL with a single-dose of 30 mg·kg^-1. The animals in the HBO group were immediately put into the hyperbaric oxygen chamber and maintained at a pressure of 0.20 MPa for 20 min. The time used for compression and decompression was both 5 min. The animals in the control group were just given a single gavage of GL. The blood samples from the rats were taken at 0.67, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0, 12.0, 24.0 h after drug administration. Concentrations of GL in serum were monitored with UPLC-MS/MS, and pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated accordingly. Results The main pharmacokinetic parameters of the HBO group were as follows: C_max 119.81±25.19 µg·mL^-1, t_max 2.69±0.80 h, t_1/2 3.54±2.30 h, AUC 731.96±210.15 µg·mL^-1·h, ke 0.26±0.13, while the corresponding results of the control group were C_max 112.43±26.96 µg·mL^-1, t_max 2.75±1.00 h, t_1/2 2.55±1.10 h, AUC 653.60±184.20 µg·mL^-1·h, ke 0.31±0.10. Conclusion Effects of hyperbaric oxygen on the pharmacokinetics of gliclazide in rats was not significant.

Key words: hyperbaric oxygen, gliclazide, pharmacokinetics, UPLC-MS/MS