Pharmacotherapeutic group: Antiinflammatory and antirheumatic products, non-steroids.
ATCvet code: QM01AE91
Carprofen possesses anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activity. Like most other NSAID’s, carprofen is an inhibitor of the enzyme cyclo-oxygenase of the arachidonic acid cascade.
However, the inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis by carprofen is slight in relation to its anti-inflammatory and analgesic potency. The precise mode of action of carprofen is not clear.
Carprofen is a chiral drug with the S(+) enantiomer being more active than the R(-) enantiomer. There is no chiral inversion between the enantiomers in-vivo.
Carprofen is well absorbed after oral administration (90%) and is highly protein bound. Peak plasma concentrations are achieved between 1 h and 3 h after administration. Carprofen is characterized by a half-life of approximately 10 hours in dogs. Carprofen is eliminated in dogs primarily by means of biotransformation in the liver, followed by rapid excretion of the resulting metabolites in faeces (70-80%) and urine (10-20%). Some enterohepatic circulation has been detected.