Trimebutine PM
Trimebutine PM
Trimebutine PM
TRIMEBUTINE
PRODUCT MONOGRAPH
TRIMEBUTINE
Trimebutine Maleate Tablets
100 mg and 200 mg
THERAPEUTIC CLASSIFICATION
receptor affinity and has a marked antiserotonin activity especially on 'M' receptors. It induces
spikes and contractions in isolated guinea pig taenia coli and ileum. However, it does not alter
Comparative Bioavailability
A comparative bioavailability study was performed using healthy human volunteers. The rate and
extent of absorption of trimebutine was measured and compared following oral administration of 1
x 200 mg of Trimebutine or Modulon tablets. The results from measured data are summarized as
follows:
2
– for the treatment and relief of symptoms associated with the irritable bowel syndrome (spastic
colon); and
– in postoperative paralytic ileus in order to accelerate the resumption of the intestinal transit
CONTRAINDICATIONS
WARNINGS
Although teratological studies have not shown any drug related adverse effects on the course and
outcome of pregnancy in laboratory animals by both oral and parenteral routes, the use of
Pediatric Use: TRIMEBUTINE is not recommended for use in children under 12 years of age.
PRECAUTIONS
Drug interactions: Animal studies have shown that trimebutine maleate increases the duration of
ADVERSE REACTIONS
In clinical studies, adverse effects of mild to moderate nature occurred in 7% of the patients
treated with trimebutine maleate. No single side effect occurred in more than 1.8% of the patients
and some of these might have been related to the patients' condition rather than the medication.
Gastrointestinal: dry mouth, foul taste, diarrhea, dyspepsia, epigastric pain, nausea and
CNS: drowsiness, fatigue, dizziness, hot/cold sensations and headaches were reported in 3.3%;
Miscellaneous effects: menstrual problems, painful enlargement of breast, anxiety, urine retention
No evidence of overdosage has been reported to date. However, if overdosage should occur
The adult recommended dose is up to 600 mg daily in divided doses. It may be administered as
two 100 mg tablets three times daily before meals or one 200 mg tablet three times daily before
meals.
PHARMACEUTICAL INFORMATION
Drug Substance
Structural Formula:
Composition
In addition to trimebutine maleate, TRIMEBUTINE 100 mg and 200 mg tablets contain the non-
TRIMEBUTINE 100 mg: each white, round, biconvex tablet, scored and engraved "TMB" over
"100" on one side contains 100 mg of trimebutine maleate. Available in bottles of 100, 250 and
TRIMEBUTINE 200 mg: each white, round, biconvex tablet, scored and engraved "TMB" over
"200" on one side contains 200 mg of trimebutine maleate. Available bottles of 100, 250 and 500,
PHARMACOLOGY
ANIMAL PHARMACOLOGY
barium or serotonin on 'D' receptors; however, it was more active against nicotine or serotonin on
'M' receptors. This potent antiserotonin activity is non-specific and may be, as least partly,
attributed to its local anaesthetic activity, as shown in comparative studies with lidocaine. Using
membrane preparations of whole rat brain and guinea pig intestine, trimebutine maleate was
Electrophysiological studies have shown that trimebutine maleate exerts a strong spasmolytic
contractions. A clear synchronization with the appearance of large regular spikes closely coupled
to the single contractions was also noted. However, unlike quinidine-like drugs, the membrane
The effects of trimebutine maleate on the mechanical and electrical activity of the intestine are not
In vivo, trimebutine maleate did not alter normal intestinal transit time in mice and rats, but
regularized abnormal intestinal activity by increasing transit time when abnormally low or by
decreasing it when abnormally high, thus returning transit time towards normal values. A similar
regularizing effect was noted on Oddi's sphincter in rabbits. It was less active than atropine
against the intestinal spasmogenic effect of methacholine, but more active than papaverine
against other spasmogens such as barium or prostigmine in mice, rats and rabbits.
The effect of trimebutine maleate administered orally or intravenously was studied in conscious or
anaesthetized rabbits, dogs and sheep and the mechanical and/or electrical activity was recorded
in some or all of the following segments: stomach, duodenum, jejunum, ileum and colon. Gastric
activity remained unaltered or was slightly depressed; the depressant effect was much less than
that with N-butylscopolamine and atropine and more than with papaverine, while metoclopramide
had the opposite effect. The activity of the small intestine was markedly increased, more in the
duodenum than in the jejunum and ileum and preferentially in those segments with irregular
intestinal activity. This effect was more pronounced with trimebutine maleate than with
metoclopramide, while papaverine had a depressant effect. In dog colon, trimebutine maleate
had a less pronounced but more sustained effect which consisted of a stimulant action on circular
muscles coupled with an inhibitory action on longitudinal muscles. In the rabbit, the
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while a facilitory effect on synaptic excitatory potentials was noted which might have been related
gastrointestinal tract.
Trimebutine maleate was shown to be a potent local anaesthetic with activity which is greater in
On the central nervous system, trimebutine maleate dosed at 2-30 mg/kg i.v., 2-100 mg/kg i.p.
and 2-500 mg/kg p.o. in mice, rats and rabbits produced some of the following effects depending
upon the species, the dosage and the route of administration: reduced spontaneous activity,
hypotonia, slight sedation and impairment of cortical reactivity, increased sleep duration and
analgesia. Trimebutine maleate depressed respiration rate and amplitude and produced
In the cardiovascular system of dogs and rabbits, trimebutine maleate produced vasodilation as
illustrated by increased coronary and femoral blood flow, and a dose related, but transient fall in
PHARMACOKINETICS
Metabolic studies in rat, dog and man showed that C14-trimebutine maleate or its free base is
rapidly absorbed after oral administration. Peak plasma concentrations of radioactivity were
observed within one hour in man and rat and within two to four hours in the dog.
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Plasma radioactivity in man indicated a kinetic model with central and peripheral compartments
and a mean distribution half-life of 0.66 hour. Tissue distribution studies showed high
concentration of the radiolabelled drug in the stomach and the intestinal walls of rat and in the
major organs of metabolism and excretion in mice. Placental transfer without teratogenic effect
was observed in the rat. Protein-binding was less than 5% in vivo (rat plasma) and in vitro
Urine was the main route of elimination in all species while a small percentage (5-12%) of
radioactivity was detected in the faeces. The plasma half-life of trimebutine was short, but the
elimination half-life of radioactivity was approximately 10-12 hours in man and rat. In the rat, an
Extensive metabolism of the parent compound was indicated since less than 2.4% of the urinary
radioactivity was found as unchanged drug in all species. The livers of rat and dog appeared to
be the major site of hydrolysis of the ester and also capable of a "first pass" metabolism.
The main urinary metabolites in all species were 2-amino (I) or 2-methylamino (II) or 2-
trimebutine (IV) were also shown in plasma; the major component was III in rat and dog and IV in
man. Sulphate and/or glucuronic acid conjugation was also shown to play an important role in
metabolism.
CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY
Clinical data have confirmed the regulating effects of trimebutine maleate on lower
transit time determinations in patients with postoperative paralytic ileus or in patients suffering
from irritable bowel syndrome (lBS). In addition, these regulating effects were also confirmed by
Trimebutine maleate has been extensively used in various clinical trials involving subjects with
irritable bowel syndrome. A total of 18 studies were conducted on 744 patients to evaluate the
effects of trimebutine maleate. Eleven of these 18 studies were double-blind controlled trials (363
patients) in which trimebutine maleate was compared with placebo. In three other controlled trials
(130 patients), trimebutine maleate was compared with mebeverine, a papaverine-like drug, and
Among the controlled studies, three were short-term (3-day treatment) involving 197 patients and
eight were medium-term (2 - 4 weeks treatment) studies with a total population of 166 patients.
The doses used in these trials varied between 400 to 600 mg per day in divided doses with the
100 mg tablet formulation. Most of these studies used a single or double-blind cross-over design
Assessment of treatment efficacy was carried out by evaluating the severity of each of the
symptoms before and during treatment (abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, etc.) as absent,
mild, moderate or severe. Alternatively, the degree of symptom improvement was assessed. In
addition, an overall evaluation of patients' preference for any of the study medications was also
recorded.
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A placebo effect was observed in most of these studies during the initial treatment period, i.e.
there was no difference in the symptom improvement between the trimebutine and placebo
Short-Term Studies
In one of the three short-term cross-over studies (3-day treatment), trimebutine maleate was
significantly superior to placebo regardless of whether it was taken as the first or the second
treatment. In the other two studies, patients receiving trimebutine maleate as the second
Medium-Term Studies
Seven of eight studies were double-blind, cross-over whereas one was of parallel design. The
duration of the treatment varied from two to four weeks and the dosage ranged between 300 to
600 mg daily. The following symptoms were evaluated: abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea
and distention/ flatulence. Global evaluation and patients' preference for a specific treatment
In three of these studies, the efficacy of trimebutine maleate was superior to placebo; the
improvement was statistically significant. Also, analysis of single stool transit (one study) time
showed a significant acceleration of transit in patients receiving trimebutine maleate, the median
Evaluation of data from the global assessment of symptom severity made by the patient and the
physician further indicated that severity of symptoms ameliorate in more patients on trimebutine
maleate than on placebo. Furthermore, the patients with the most severe initial symptoms
The results of one study indicated that the effect of trimebutine maleate became evident only after
two weeks and persisted for one more week after the therapy was discontinued. In this study,
trimebutine maleate gave better improvement than placebo which was significant (p <0.01) with
regard to alternating constipation and diarrhea. In other studies, although subjects showed a
In other controlled trials, trimebutine maleate was compared with mebeverine, a papaverine-like
medication. A total of three studies involving 130 patients were conducted. Trimebutine maleate
100 or 200 mg t.i.d. and mebeverine 100 mg t.i.d or q.i.d was administered up to four weeks in
patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome. Both drugs provided statistically significant
improvement (p <0.001) of the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome after two and four weeks of
treatment without any significant difference between the two groups. However, the improvement
obtained with trimebutine maleate during the third and fourth week of treatment was significantly
superior (p <0.001) to that observed with mebeverine. The tolerance was excellent for both
drugs.
trimebutine maleate (200 mg) was administered orally to 11 normal volunteers and nine patients
with constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. The postprandial motor activity was
Results indicated that, although orally administered, trimebutine maleate had no effect on
postprandial sigmoid motor activity in normal subjects, nonetheless it attenuated the increase
In another, double-blind, cross-over study conducted by Schang et al, trimebutine maleate 200
mg daily was administered orally for one month to 24 patients suffering from chronic idiopathic
constipation. Results indicated that colonic transit time was significantly reduced (p <0.05) with
trimebutine maleate in patients with "delayed" transit time (from 105 ±9 to 60 ±11 hours) while it
did not change with placebo (from 103 ±17 to 95 ±10 hours). Electrical activity was not
influenced by trimebutine maleate or placebo in constipated patients with "normal" transit time,
Controlled Studies
Five controlled and 11 open studies were performed to evaluate the clinical effects of trimebutine
maleate on postoperative ileus. These studies included 1,123 patients (controlled studies: 340
In the controlled studies, trimebutine maleate was administered at doses of 100 to 400 mg by
intravenous or intramuscular routes. Overall results indicated that trimebutine maleate was well
tolerated by patients. The time interval to passage of first intestinal gas was shorter in
trimebutine maleate treated patients (52 ±9 hours) as compared to placebo group (73 ±17 hours).
Also, the resumption of intestinal motility was significantly faster (68 ±11 hours) in comparison
with placebo (88 ±18 hours) (p <0.05). In addition, patients in the trimebutine maleate group felt
Adverse side effects, such as dizziness, nausea and/or vomiting, diarrhea and dry mouth, were
reported by 14 of 340 patients (4.1%). These adverse effects were mild in nature and did not
Open Studies
In the 11 open studies, resumption of gases appeared within 48 hours in 66.4% of cases while in
85.4% it appeared within 72 hours. As in the controlled studies, trimebutine maleate helped in
improving the postoperative conditions of patients as their abdominal and colonic discomfort,
Results indicated that trimebutine maleate had an intense contractile activity on the intestine of
the 29 patients treated with the drug compared to 13 patients who did not receive it. Clinically,
the study showed that the duration of paralytic ileus was notably shorter in patients treated with
trimebutine maleate than in the control group. The passage of the first postoperative gas was
reduced by an average of 23% by trimebutine maleate. It was also noted that trimebutine
maleate attenuated the symptoms associated with ileus, namely nausea, vomiting, distention and
abdominal pain.
TOXICOLOGY
Acute Toxicity
The acute toxicity of trimebutine maleate estimated by various routes of administration gave the
Death was produced by respiratory arrest within 1 minute, 15 minutes and 24 hours after i.v., i.p.
The acute i.v. toxicity was studied in anaesthetized dogs with the monitoring of cardiovascular
and respiratory functions. At dose levels in the range of 1 to 20 mg per/kg, dose related
Death due to respiratory arrest occurred at 40 mg/kg. Cardiac function persisted for almost three
minutes after respiratory arrest; therefore, the death occurred due to respiratory arrest and not
Subacute Toxicity
Trimebutine maleate was injected intravenously for four weeks to rats and beagle dogs at doses
In rats, no specific organ toxicity was observed. In the high dose group, however, there was a
high mortality rate since half of the animals died during the study. Death occurred always within
15 seconds of dosing and the animals exhibited signs of acute CNS involvement. Postmortem
examination showed a slight weight increase of spleen and adrenals in males at 16 mg/kg/day.
In dogs, transient, reversible signs of CNS effects were apparent at 7 and 12.5 mg/kg/day. An
overall weight loss was observed in the high dose females while weight gain was decreased in
males at 7 and 12.5 mg/kg/day. The injection sites of treated and control animals were
comparable.
Chronic Toxicity
Trimebutine maleate was administered orally for 26 weeks to rats and beagle dogs at dose levels
of 40, 220 and 1,210 mg/kg/day or 10, 30 and 90 to 250 mg/kg/day, respectively.
In rats, no overt clinical signs or identifiable specific target organ toxicity were observed. In the
high dose groups, a low incidence of mortality occurred. Weight gain decreased at 1,210
mg/kg/day in males and females and in females dosed with 220 mg/kg/day. A moderate
elevation of SAP and SGPT appeared at the end of the treatment period in the high dose female
group. At 1,210 mg/kg/day, liver and adrenal weights (relative to body weights) were increased,
while kidney weights increased in the high dose groups. Histopathological examination did not
In dogs, adverse clinical signs and weight loss were confined to animals dosed at 250 mg/kg/day.
A dose related decreased coagulation time was observed at 90 and 250 mg/kg/day, which was
also associated with reduced prothrombin time. At the high dose level, serum albumin decreased
while blood urea nitrogen, blood creatinine and liver, kidney or adrenal weights increased. There
Teratology
In rats, teratogenicity studies, fertility and general reproductive studies and pre and postnatal
studies were undertaken by the oral and i.m. routes at doses of 100-1,000 mg/kg and 12.5-50
orally and subcutaneously at doses of 50-200 mg/kg and 25-100 mg/kg, respectively.
Mutagenicity
No teratogenic abnormalities were found during the course of these studies and trimebutine
maleate had no adverse effects on fertility, reproduction, course and outcome of pregnancy and
In vivo, a mutagenicity study in mice at dose levels of 3,000-12,000 mg/kg and in vitro
mutagenicity and carcinogenicity studies failed to show any evidence of bone marrow toxicity or
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