Advances in the study of enzymes and transporters-mediated pharmacokinetic mechanism for herb-drug interaction / 药学学报

ABSTRACT

With the wide application of Chinese herbal medicine, herb-drug interaction (HDI) has become increasingly prominent. Metabolic enzymes and transporters are the main targets of HDI, because the changes in expression and function of enzymes and transporters can influence the disposition of drugs. Metabolic enzymes are responsible for the metabolic clearance of drugs, including cytochrome P450 (CYP), UDP-glucuronyl transferase (UGT) and sulfotransferases (SULT); transporters widely expressed in the intestine, kidney, liver and brain are involved in the oral absorption, distribution and excretion of drugs. Pueraria, ginkgo, ginseng, St. John's wort and other Chinese herbal medicine often induce a HDI because those herbal medicines combined with chemical medicine are widely used in clinic. The components of herb medicines mentioned above are prone to interact with enzymes and transporters, which often induce a HDI. This paper reviews the advances in the study of enzymes and transporters-mediated pharmacokinetic mechanism of HDI.