Abstract
1. The effects of piperacillin administration on bile flow and biliary lipid secretion were studied in male Wistar rats.
2. Intravenous injection of piperacillin at doses ranging from 0.3 to 3.0 mmol/kg body weight led to an increase in its biliary concentration and excretion rate. Maximal biliary excretion was reached at a dose of 2.0 mmol/kg.
3. Excretion of the antibiotic into bile was associated with a marked choleresis. A linear relationship was observed between bile flow and piperacillin excretion,  5.7 ml of bile being produced per mmol of the drug excreted into bile.
4. Continuous i.v. infusion of piperacillin at 2.0 mmol/100g/min did not result in significant changes of bile acid or cholesterol secretion, but biliary phospholipid secretion was markedly reduced. The inhibitory effect on phospholipid secretion was also present when biliary lipid output had been previously increased by an infusion of taurocholate. Addition of taurocholate did not reverse the impairment of phospholipid secretion induced by piperacillin.
5. These results indicate that acute administration of piperacillin induces in the rat a marked choleresis by stimulating bile acid-independent bile flow. The significant impairment in phospholipid secretion suggests an specific effect on their intracellular supply to the canalicular membrane.
 
 

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