Effects of icaritin on cytochrome P450 enzymes in rats.

The purpose of this study was to find out whether icaritin influences the effect on rat cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes (CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2E1 and CYP3A4) using cocktail probe drugs in vivo. A cocktail solution at a dose of 5 mL/kg, which contained phenacetin (20 mg/kg), tolbutamide (5 mg/kg), chlorzoxazone (20 mg/kg) and midazolam (10 mg/kg), was orally administered to rats treated with multiple doses of icaritin. Blood samples were collected at a series of time-points and the concentrations of probe drugs in plasma were determined by HPLC-MS/MS. The corresponding pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by the software of DAS 2.0. Treatment with multiple doses of icaritin had inhibitive effects on rat CYP1A2, CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 enzyme activities. However, icaritin has no inductive or inhibitory effect on the activity of CYP2E1. Therefore, caution is needed when icaritin is co-administered with some CYP1A2, CYP2C9 or CYP3A4 substrates, which may result in treatment failure and herb-drug interactions.

Effect of myricetin on cytochrome P450 isoforms CYP1A2, CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 in rats.

Myricetin is one of the main ingredients of Chinese bayberry, which is used as a traditional medicine. The purpose of this study was to find out whether myricetin influences the rat cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes (CYP1A2, CYP2C9 and CYP3A4) by using cocktail probe drugs in vivo. A cocktail solution at a dose of 5 mL/kg, which contained phenacetin (20 mg/kg), tolbutamide (5 mg/kg) and midazolam (10 mg/kg), was orally administered to rats treated for 14 days with myricetin. Blood samples were collected at a series of time-points and the concentrations of probe drugs in plasma were determined by HPLC-MS/MS. The corresponding pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by the software of DAS 2.0. Our study showed that treatment with multiple doses of myricetin had no effects on rat CYP1A2. However, CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 enzyme activities were inhibited after multiple doses of myricetin. Therefore, caution is needed when myricetin is co-administered with CYP2C9 or CYP3A4 substrates, which may result in herb-drug interactions.

Effect of colchicine on rat hepatic cytochrome P450 enzymes by cocktail probe drugs.

Colchicine (COL), an alkaloid derived from plants, has been used to treat gout, pseudogout and familial Mediterranean fever for several decades. The purpose of this study was to investigate the in vivo effect of COL on rat cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6) to assess its potential to interact with co-administered drugs. This was a randomized, double-blind, two-way crossover study with a 4-week washout period between the phases. Rats received COL via an irrigation stomach needle at a dose of 0.4 mg/kg once daily for consecutive 10 days. On the eleventh day, a cocktail solution at a dose of 4 ml/kg, which contained phenacetin (15.0 mg/kg), tolbutamide (3.0 mg/kg), omeprazole (15.0 mg/kg) and dextromethorphan (15.0mg/kg), was oral administered to all rats. Then 0.3 ml blood samples were collected at a set of time-points. The plasma concentrations of probe drugs were simultaneously determined by HPLC-MS/MS. Pharmacokinetic parameters simulated by DAS software were used for the evaluation of COL on the activities of rat CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 enzymes. Our study showed that COL administration induced CYP2C9 activity, causing a significant decrease in AUC(0-infinity) (P < 0.01) and t1/2 (P < 0.05) of tolbutamide, and a distinct increase in CL (P<0.01). Many pharmacokinetic parameters of dextromethorphan in COL-treated rats were affected significantly, which indicated that the metabolism of dextromethorphan in these treatment groups was evidently slowed down. However, there was no significant influence of pharmacokinetic parameters of phenacetin and omeprazole in COL-treated rats. The results from the present in vivo study suggested that COL showed no effects on rat CYP1A2 and CYP2C19, however, it demonstrated potential inductive effects on CYP2C9 and inhibitory effects on CYP2D6. Therefore, caution is needed when COL is co-administered with drugs metabolized by CYP2C9 or CYP2D6, which may result in altered plasma concentrations of these drugs and relevant drug-drug interactions.

Effects of Alismatis rhizome on rat cytochrome P450 enzymes.

CONTEXT: Alismatis rhizome (RA) (Water Plantain Family, also called "Zexie" in Chinese), one of the commonly used components of traditional Chinese medicines, is derived from the dried rhizomes of Alisma orientalis (Sam.) Juzep. (Alismataceae). OBJECTIVE: This study explores the RA influences on rat cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes (CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2E1 and CYP3A4) by using cocktail probe drugs in vivo. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cocktail solution at a dose of 5 mL/kg, which contained phenacetin (20 mg/kg), tolbutamide (5 mg/kg), chlorzoxazone (20 mg/kg) and midazolam (10 mg/kg), was orally administration to rats treated twice daily with RA (10, 20 and 40 g/kg) for consecutive 14 days. Blood samples (0.2 mL) were collected at a series of time-points and the concentrations of probe drugs in plasma were determined by HPLC-MS/MS. The corresponding pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by the software of DAS 2.0 (Wenzhou Medical College, Zhejiang, China). RESULTS: In the experiment, there was a statistically significant difference in the t1/2, Cmax, AUC(0-∞) and CL for phenacetin and midazolam, while there was no statistical pharmacokinetics difference for tolbutamide and chlorzoxazone. Our study showed that treatment with multiple doses of RA had an inductive effect on rat CYP1A2 and an inhibitory effect on rat CYP3A4 enzyme activity. However, RA has no inductive or inhibitory effect on the activities of CYP2C9 and CYP2E1. CONCLUSIONS: Caution is needed when RA is co-administration with some CYP1A2 or CYP3A4 substrates in clinic, because it may result in treatment failure and herb-drug interactions.

A rapid and simple UPLC-MS-MS method for determination of glipizide in human plasma and its application to bioequivalence study.

In this study, a simple, rapid and sensitive ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method is described for the determination of glipizide in human plasma samples using carbamazepine as the internal standard (IS) from bioequivalence assays. Sample preparation was accomplished through protein precipitation with methanol, and chromatographic separation was performed on an Acquity BEH C18 column (2.1 mm × 50 mm, 1.7 µm) with gradient profile at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. Mass spectrometric analysis was performed using an QTrap5500 mass spectrometer coupled with an electrospray ionization source in the positive ion mode. The multiple reaction monitoring transitions of m/z 446.1 → 321.0 and m/z 237.1 → 194.2 were used to quantify for glipizide and IS. The linearity of this method was found to be within the concentration range of 10-1,500 ng/mL for glipizide in human plasma. Only 1.0 min was needed for an analytical run. The method was applied to a bioequivalence study of two drug products containing glipizide in human plasma samples.

Effects of aescin on cytochrome P450 enzymes in rats.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Aescin, the main active component found in extracts of horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) seed a traditional medicinal herb, is a mixture of triterpene saponins. It has been shown to be effective in inflammatory, chronic venous and edematous treatment conditions in vitro and in vivo, and is broadly used to treat chronic venous insufficiency. The purpose of this study was to find out whether aescin influences the effect on rat cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes (CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2E1 and CYP3A4) by using cocktail probe drugs in vivo; the influence on the levels of CYP mRNA was also studied. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cocktail solution at a dose of 5mL/kg, which contained phenacetin (20mg/kg), tolbutamide (5mg/kg), chlorzoxazone (20mg/kg) and midazolam (10mg/kg), was given as oral administration to rats treated with a single dose or multiple doses of intravenous aescin via the caudal vein. Blood samples were collected at a series of time-points and the concentrations of probe drugs in plasma were determined by HPLC-MS/MS. The corresponding pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by the software of DAS 2.0. In addition, real-time RT-PCR was performed to determine the effects of aescin on the mRNA expression of CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2E1 and CYP3A4 in rat liver. RESULTS: Treatment with a single dose or multiple doses of aescin had inductive effects on rat CYP1A2, while CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 enzyme activities were inhibited. Moreover, aescin has no inductive or inhibitory effect on the activity of CYP2E1. The mRNA expression results were in accordance with the pharmacokinetic results. CONCLUSIONS: Aescin can either inhibit or induce activities of CYP1A2, CYP2C9 and CYP3A4. Therefore, caution is needed when aescin is co-administration with some CYP1A2, CYP2C9 or CYP3A4 substrates in clinic, which may result in treatment failure and herb-drug interactions.

Therapeutic drug monitoring in voriconazole-associated hyponatremia.

Voriconazole is a second generation triazole antifungal agent and the first choice therapy for invasive aspergillosis (IA). Although voriconazole may be associated with many adverse events, hyponatremia has been rarely reported which potentially could result in death. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and individualization of therapy by measuring voriconazole plasma concentrations improved the efficacy and safety in patients. We report the effect of TDM to adjust voriconazole dosage in a voriconazole-related hyponatremia patient.