Pharmacokinetic characterization of the indole alkaloid ibogaine in rats.
Methods and findings in experimental and clinical pharmacology March 1, 2000 L B Hough, A A Bagal, S D Glick 7 citations
After a 20 mg/kg intravenous infusion in rats, ibogaine levels in plasma declined rapidly in a two-phase pattern, with an initial half-life of 7.3 minutes and a terminal half-life of 3.3 hours. Drug clearance was 5.9 L/h. Three hours after infusion, ibogaine concentrations in brain, liver, and kidney were 143–170 ng/g, but in adipose tissue the concentration was much higher at 3,328 ng/g. This sequestration in fat likely causes the drug to persist in the body longer than the terminal half-life suggests. The initial rapid disappearance from plasma may result from metabolic demethylation and redistribution to tissues.