Pharmacokinetics of clopidogrel in healthy Chinese volunteers

There are marked ethnic variabilities in the metabolism of clopidogrel. The pharmacokinetic (PK) characteristics of clopidogrel have been studied previously in whites or Korean volunteers, but these PK characteristics may not be fully extrapolated to the Chinese people. Little is known about the PK characteristics of clopidogrel in Chinese population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetic profiles of clopidogrel in 20 healthy Chinese volunteers after administration of a single dose of clopidogrel 75 mg. The peak plasma concentration (C _max), time to C _max (T _max ), area under the plasma concentration versus time curve from time 0 h to 36 h (AUC _0-36 ), elimination half-life (t _1/2), clearance rate (CL/F) and apparent volume of distribution (Vd) were (1.804 ± 1.706) ng/ml, (0.7 ± 0.3) h, (2.465 ± 1.693) ng•h/ml, (7.3 ± 7.0) h, (53.09 ± 34.65) × 10 ³ L/h and (447.1 ± 440.8) × 10 ³ L, respectively.