Pharmacokinetics of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim in Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, after oral administration of single-dose and multiple-dose

•SMZ and TMP present different kinetic characteristics.•In single-dose administration, SMZ elimination is slower than TMP.•In multi-dose administration, SMZ reached steady state level, while TMP didn't.•SMZ was more widely distributed in the tissues than TMP.

The tissue distribution and depletion of sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) and trimethoprim (TMP) were studied in Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, after single-dose and multiple-dose oral administration of SMZ-TMP (5:1) via medicated feed. In single-dose oral administration, shrimps were fed once at a dose of 100 mg/kg (drug weight/body weight). In multiple-dose oral administration, shrimps were fed three times a day for three consecutive days at a dose of 100 mg/kg. The results showed the kinetic characteristic of SMZ was different from TMP in Pacific white shrimp. In the single-dose administration, the SMZ was widely distributed in the tissues, while TMP was highly concentrated in the hepatopancreas. The t1/2z values of SMZ were larger and persist longer than TMP in Pacific white shrimp. In the multiple-dose administration, SMZ accumulated well in the tissues, and reached steady state level after successive administrations, while TMP did not. TMP concentration even appeared the downward trend with the increase of drug times. Compared with the single dose, the t1/2z values of SMZ in hepatopancreas (8.22-11.33 h) and muscle (6.53-10.92 h) of Pacific white shrimps rose, but the haemolymph dropped (13.76-11.03) in the multiple-dose oral administration. Meanwhile, the corresponding values of TMP also rose in hepatopancreas (4.53-9.65 h) and muscle (2.12-2.71 h), and declined in haemolymph (7.38-5.25 h) following single-dose and multiple-dose oral administration in Pacific white shrimps. In addition, it is worth mentioning that the ratios of SMZ and TMP were unusually larger than the general aim ratio.