A Multicentre Study of Talampicillin and Ampicillin in General Practice

Abstract

Talampicillin (Talpen), the phthalidyl ester of ampicillin (fig. 1), like other thiazoldine esters of penicillins (Hamilton-Miller, 1967) is considered to be devoid of antibacterial activity. It is particularly well absorbed following oral administration and liberates free ampicillin into the circulation. Blood ampicillin levels obtained following oral doses of talampicillin are twice those achieved following equivalent oral doses of ampicillin (Clayton J.P. et al, 1974). Metabolic studies have indicated that ampicillin is liberated from the ester during talampicillin’s passage through the gut mucosa by the action of tissue esterases and that no intact talampicillin is present in the peripheral blood (Jeffrey D.J. et al, 1975).