INFLUENCE OF HYDROCORTISONE ON THE ANALGESIC EFFECT, TOXICITY AND METABOLISM OF ASPIRIN IN MICE

1. Hydrocortisone (HC; 80 mg/kg body weight, intraperitoneally for 4 d ays), both alone and in combination with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA; 16 0 mg/kg body weight, orally, for 4 days), decreased ASA general and sp ecific toxicity via metabolic modulation of drug-metabolizing enzyme s ys tems (intestinal ASA esterase and hepatic UDP-glucuronyltransferase ) and did not change the ASA analgesic effect. 2. ASA alone, given 4 f or days, did not change the specific ASA toxicity, but increased its g eneral acute toxicity, which was probably due to alterations in some i ntestinal and hepatic metabolizing enzyme systems. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.