Alprazolam’s precise mode of action has not yet been identified. Clinically, every benzodiazepine depresses the central nervous system in a dose-dependent manner, resulting in symptoms ranging from minor agitation to hypnosis.

Alprazolam is quickly absorbed following oral treatment, with serum levels peaking 1 to 2 hours later. Alprazolam’s half-life in the body is 12 to 15 hours, and the major way it is eliminated is through the urine.

Alprazolam passes the placental barrier and is excreted in breast milk, just like the other benzodiazepines.

In male volunteers who were given oral warfarin sodium, alprazolam had no effect on the levels of warfarin or prothrombin in their blood.

Alprazolam is 80% bound to human serum proteins in vitro. When pregnant female mice were given 14C-alprazolam, drug-related substances appeared to be evenly distributed in the fetus, with a concentration at 14°C that was roughly equal to that of the mother’s blood and musculoskeletal tissue. Alprazolam is thought to circulate across the placenta and be secreted in human milk because of similarities to other benzodiazepines.