Myonal (Tolperisone) Elimination Timeline
Tolperisone is essentially eliminated from the system within 6-8 hours after the last dose, based on its elimination half-life of approximately 1.5 hours. 1, 2
Pharmacokinetic Profile
The elimination half-life of tolperisone is 1.14-1.55 hours, which means the drug concentration in plasma decreases by 50% every 1-2 hours. 1, 2
Complete Elimination Timeline
After 5 half-lives (approximately 6-8 hours), over 97% of the drug is eliminated from the body, which is the standard pharmacokinetic principle for complete drug clearance. 1, 2
The drug demonstrates rapid clearance with a total body clearance of 140.8 ± 33.8 L/h after intravenous administration. 1
Peak plasma concentrations occur 0.5-1 hour after oral administration (Tmax = 0.94 ± 0.42 hours in Korean populations), followed by rapid elimination. 2
Clinical Implications for Symptom Onset
If tolperisone overdose occurs, symptoms appear rapidly within 0.5-1.5 hours after ingestion, reflecting the drug's quick absorption and distribution. 3
The rapid onset of toxic effects in overdose situations (within 30-90 minutes) correlates with the drug's pharmacokinetic profile and confirms its short time to peak concentration. 3
Important Caveats
The apparent volume of distribution is 5.1 ± 1.0 L/kg, indicating moderate tissue distribution, but this does not significantly prolong elimination given the high clearance rate. 1
Oral bioavailability is relatively low (16.7-22.3%), meaning most of an oral dose is not systemically absorbed, which actually shortens the effective elimination time for orally administered doses. 1
No specific data exists on altered elimination in hepatic or renal disease for tolperisone, unlike many other muscle relaxants, so caution is warranted in these populations as elimination may be prolonged. 1, 2