Abstract: The present study aimed at studying the characteristics of tissue distribution and excretion of scopoletin, a coumarin compound, in Sprague-Dawley rats. Scopoletin was orally administered at a dose of 50 mg/kg, and the concentrations in heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, muscle, fat, brain, testis, uterus, stomach and small intestine were determined at 5, 15, 30, 60, 120, 240 min post-dose, respectively. It was shown that scopoletin was widely distributed into various tissues and reached the maximal concentrations in most tissues at 15 min post-dose, and the levels in liver, kidney, stomach and small intestine were relatively higher. Furthermore, the excretions of scopoletin in bile, urine and feces were only 0.032%, 3.752% and 0.784%, respectively, suggesting that scopoletin was mainly eliminated by metabolism rather than excretion as parent drug.

Key words: Scopoletin, Tissue distribution, Excretion