MATHEMATICAL MODEL FOR THE ORAL INTAKE OF ARTEMETHER DRUGS THROUGH GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT AND BLOODSTREAM AS COMPARTMENTS

Abstract

Malaria remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality across Africa, 
particularly in Nigeria, where it continues to constitute a major public health challenge 
despite sustained control efforts. Consequently, optimizing antimalarial drug therapy remains 
a critical priority. Artemether is one of the most widely prescribed artemisinin-based 
antimalarial drugs for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria due to its rapid therapeutic 
action. Following oral administration, Artemether is absorbed through the gastrointestinal 
tract, enters the systemic circulation, undergoes metabolism, is distributed to body tissues, 
and is eventually eliminated from the body. In this study, the pharmacokinetic processes of 
Artemether, namely absorption, metabolism, distribution, and elimination (ADME), were 
represented using a simplified two-compartment model consisting of the gastrointestinal 
tract and bloodstream compartments. A system of linear ordinary differential equations 
describing the transfer of the drug between these compartments was formulated to 
characterize the temporal variation in drug concentration. The resulting mathematical model 
was solved analytically using the Laplace transformation technique to obtain explicit 
expressions for drug concentration profiles in both compartments. Numerical simulations of 
the analytical solutions were performed using MATLAB R2018b to investigate the 
pharmacokinetic behaviour of Artemether over time. Simulation results demonstrate that the 
concentration of Artemether in both the gastrointestinal tract and bloodstream is directly 
proportional to the absorption rate constants governing drug transfer between the 
compartments. Conversely, drug concentration decreases progressively with increasing time, 
reflecting the combined effects of distribution, metabolism, and elimination. The developed 
model provides a simple yet effective mathematical framework for describing Artemether 
pharmacokinetics and offers a useful foundation for pharmacokinetic analysis, dosage 
optimization, and future studies involving more complex multicompartment drug delivery 
systems.