Progesterone and is responsible for approximately 70% of cytochrome P450-mediated progesterone metabolism. Other routes include 6α-, 16α-, and 16β-hydroxylation. However, treatment of women with ketoconazole, a strong CYP3A4 inhibitor, had minimal effects on progesterone levels, producing only a slight and non-significant increase, and this suggests that cytochrome P450 enzymes play only a small role in progesterone metabolism. In women, progesterone levels are relatively low during the preovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle, rise after ovulation, and are elevated during the luteal phase, as shown in diagram below. Progesterone levels tend to be less than 2 ng/mL prior to ovulation, and greater
Pharmacokinetics of progesterone biological half-life of progesterone in the circulation is very short; with intravenous injection, its half-life has ranged widely from 3 to 90 minutes in various studies. The metabolic clearance rate of progesterone ranges between 2,100 and 2,800 L/day, and is constant across the menstrual cycle. Progesterone is eliminated in bile and urine. Pharmacokinetics of progesterone The pharmacology of progesterone, a progestogen medication and naturally occurring steroid hormone, concerns its pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and various routes of administration. Progesterone is a naturally occurring and bioidentical progestogen, or an agonist of the progesterone receptor, the biological target of progestogens like endogenous progesterone. Progesterone