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The glucuronide of a new oral antidiabetic agent, (+/-)-5-[4-(6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-yl- methoxy)benzyl]thiazolidine-2,4-dione (CS-045) (1), was synthesized to confirm the structure of a metabolite in monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) and to examine its antidiabetic activity. The glucuronide also had antidiabetic activity in KK-mice.

The degradation kinetics of pivaloyloxymethyl (POM) esters of cephalosporins in phosphate buffer solution (pH 6-8) were investigated. The degradation of the starting delta 3 cephalosporin ester proceeded mainly via isomerization to the delta 2 ester and subsequent hydrolysis to the delta 2 acid. Hydrolysis to the delta 3 acid (the parent acid) was very slow. Analysis of the rate constants indicated that the isomerization rate k12 was approximately equal to the apparent degradation rate of the delta 3 ester kdeg, and slower than the hydrolysis rate of the delta 2 ester k24. The isomerization process to the delta 2 ester was found to be the rate-determining step in the degradation of cephalosporin esters. The substituent at the C-3 position of the cephalosporins affected the degradation kinetics. The degradation was accelerated by increase of pH, buffer concentration and added protein.

Oral acute toxicity of medium chain glyceride (MCG) was studied in mice and rats. In mice and rats, clinical signs such as irregular respiration, laxity of movement, staggering gait and loss of righting reflex appeared after single oral administration of MCG at a relatively large dose. The LD50 values determined in male and female mice were 26.9 and 28.5 ml/kg, and in male and female rats were 27.4 and 26.7 ml/kg, respectively. In order to evaluate the biological safety of MCG suppository of cefmetazole sodium (CMZ), its local irritation on the mucous membrane was studied. Primary eye irritation of MCG suppository of CMZ was studied in rabbits. Although mild irritation was seen in conjunctivae, no remarkable changes were observed in cornea and iris. Furthermore, primary effect of MCG suppository of CMZ on the rectal mucous membrane was studied macro- and micro-scopically. It was observed that remarkable histological changes of rectal mucous membrane by MCG suppository of CMZ were not observed in all animals used.

The distribution of orally and intravenously administered 14C-oxazolam was studied in mice by means of whole-body autoradiography and in rats by scintillation counting of the organs and tissues. The radioactivity was found to be widely distributed in various tissues including the brain at 30 min after oral administration, reached the maximum levels within 1 hr and thereafter declined rather rapidly. The distribution patterns were similar for mice and rats, except that the brain uptake of the drug was appreciably higher in mice than in rats. A high affinity of oxazolam to the brain tissue was demonstrated by an extremely high and rapid uptake of radioactivity by the brain after intravenous injection in mice. The brain level reached its maximum at about 1 min after the injection and thereafter fell off rapidly, some retention of radioactivity being observed in the white matter of the brain-stem and in the trigeminal nerve. Autoradiographic studies in pregnant mice demonstrated that there is a slow and only a slight penetration of radioactivity through the placenta. A comparison of the excretion patterns of oxazolam after oral administration in mice, rats, dogs and man revealed that in mice and rats the excretion in the feces, mostly derived from the biliary excretion, was more important than that in the urine, while in dogs a larger part was excreted in the urine and in man the most part (ca. 80% of the dose) in the urine.