Pseudoephedrine is incompletely metabolized (less than 1%) in the liver by N-demethylation to an inactive metabolite. The drug and its metabolite are excreted in urine; 55-96% of a dose is excreted unchanged.
Ephedrine (EPH), pseudoephedrine (PEPH), phenylpropanolamine (PPA), methylephedrine (MEPH) and cathine are sympathomimetic amines. ... Excretion studies of the ephedrine-related drugs have been performed to better understand the metabolic yields of ephedrines in urine. After consuming a single clinical dose of each of these drugs, urine samples from volunteers (n=3 for each drug) were subjected to tert-butyl-methyl-ether (TBME) extraction and trifluoroacetic acid (TFAA) derivatization before gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Most ephedrines were excreted unchanged in urine, including EPH (40.9%), PEPH (72.2%), and PPA (59.3%). However, only a relatively small amount of MEPH (15.5%) was excreted unchanged in urine. In addition, a trace amount of PPA (1.6%) and cathine (0.7%) was found to be the metabolites of EPH and PEPH, respectively. Urinary EPH, PEPH, and PPA reached peaks at 2-6 hr and disappeared in urine at approximately 24-48 hr post-administration. ...
Pseudoephedrine acts directly on both alpha- and, to a lesser degree, beta-adrenergic receptors. Through direct action on alpha-adrenergic receptors in the mucosa of the respiratory tract, pseudoephedrine produces vasoconstriction. Pseudoephedrine relaxes bronchial smooth muscle by stimulating beta2-adrenergic receptors. Like ephedrine, pseudoephedrine releasing norepinephrine from its storage sites, an indirect effect. This is its main and direct mechanism of action. The displaced noradrenaline is released into the neuronal synapse where it is free to activate the postsynaptic adrenergic receptors.
参考文献:M Chen, V Vijay, Q Shi, Z Liu, H Fang, W Tong. 美国食品药品监督管理局批准的药物标签用于研究药物诱导的肝损伤,《药物发现今日》,16(15-16):697-703, 2011. PMID:21624500 DOI:10.1016/j.drudis.2011.05.007
M Chen, A Suzuki, S Thakkar, K Yu, C Hu, W Tong. DILIrank:按人类发展药物诱导肝损伤风险排名的最大参考药物清单。《药物发现今日》2016, 21(4): 648-653. PMID:26948801 DOI:10.1016/j.drudis.2016.02.015
References:M Chen, V Vijay, Q Shi, Z Liu, H Fang, W Tong. FDA-Approved Drug Labeling for the Study of Drug-Induced Liver Injury, Drug Discovery Today, 16(15-16):697-703, 2011. PMID:21624500 DOI:10.1016/j.drudis.2011.05.007
M Chen, A Suzuki, S Thakkar, K Yu, C Hu, W Tong. DILIrank: the largest reference drug list ranked by the risk for developing drug-induced liver injury in humans. Drug Discov Today 2016, 21(4): 648-653. PMID:26948801 DOI:10.1016/j.drudis.2016.02.015
A 240mg oral dose of pseudoephedrine reaches a Cmax of 246.3±10.5ng/mL fed and 272.5±13.4ng/mL fasted, with a Tmax of 6.60±1.38h fed and 11.87±0.72h fasted, with an AUC of 6862.0±334.1ng\*h/mL fed and 7535.1±333.0ng\*h/mL fasted.