The Fate of Fenclozic Acid in the Gut and Its Effect on Some Aspects of Gut Metabolism.

In the rat [14C]fenclozic acid is not metabolized in the gut and passes into the portal blood unchanged. After intraduodenal administration of [14C]fenclozic acid, a small proportion of the dose binds to high molecular weight substances in the gut wall. The incorporation of L-[U-14C]leucine and N-[3H]acetyl-D-glucosamine into acid-precipitable materials by isolated mucosal cells and homogenates of gut mucosal cells was inhibited by fenclozic acid in a dose-dependent manner. Other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (indomethacin, phenylbutazone, prednisolone, salicylic acid and paracetamol) were tested for their potency as inhibitors of glycoprotein production by whole cell preparations and by homogenized gut cell preparations. Marked differences were observed in the inhibitory potency of indomethacin, paracetamol and salicylic acid in the two experimental systems. Fenclozic acid had no major effect on the rate of total glycoprotein production by the isolated perfused rat liver or by the duodenal mucosa in situ. Fenclozic acid displaces albumin-bound [3H]tryptophan and increases the level of hepatic tryptophan pyrrolase approx. threefold. The inhibition of gut glycoprotein production by fenclozic acid was not prevented by free tryptophan.