Molecular dynamics simulation and in vitro evaluation of herb-drug interactions involving dietary polyphenols and CDK inhibitors in breast cancer chemotherapy.

Dietary polyphenols such as quercetin and curcumin have been extensively administered to patients with cancer in the form of herbal supplements. They may have a synergistic anticancer effect; however, a risk of pharmacokinetic interactions with selective CDK-4/6 inhibitors that are metabolized by the CYP3A4 enzyme exists. Considering these pharmacokinetic aspects, the current study examined the effects of curcumin and quercetin on human CYP3A4 to ascertain CYP3A4-mediated herb-drug interactions with CDK inhibitors. In this study, using in silico methods and CYP3A4 inhibition kinetics in human liver microsomes and recombinant CYP3A4 enzymes, the effects of concentration-dependent inhibition of CYP3A4 by quercetin and curcumin on CDK inhibitors metabolism were examined. Based on our in-silico docking findings, curcumin and quercetin were considerably bound to CYP3A4 protein and displace CDK inhibitors from the CYP3A4 substrate binding domain. The IC50 values of curcumin and quercetin were 16.10 and 0.05 µM, respectively, for CYP3A4-mediated 1'-hydroxylation of midazolam. The dietary polyphenols prolonged the in vitro half-life of palbociclib and ribociclib by 6.4-fold and decreased their intrinsic microsomal clearance by approximately 4.6 times. Our findings indicate that curcumin and quercetin effectively cause herb-drug interactions and should be cautiously used to avoid therapeutic failure.

Effects of Caffeic Acid and Quercetin on In Vitro Permeability, Metabolism and In Vivo Pharmacokinetics of Melatonin in Rats: Potential for Herb-Drug Interaction.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Melatonin is a popular dietary supplement and also considered as pharmaceutical product for sleep disorders. Caffeic acid and quercetin are widely distributed in leafy vegetables, fruits, tea extract, and both are used as natural antioxidant. There is an immense concern for health researchers to study the herb/food-drug interactions of melatonin. It is mainly metabolized by CYP1A2 in human so that herbs/foods containing cytochrome P450 (CYP) inhibitors can affect pharmacokinetics of melatonin. By considering pharmacokinetic aspects, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of caffeic acid and quercetin on Caco-2 cells permeability, metabolism, CYP1A inhibition in vitro assay systems and a single dose pharmacokinetics of melatonin in vivo rats. METHODS: The effects of caffeic acid and quercetin on melatonin permeability were tested in Caco-2 cells. Metabolic stability and CYP1A activity were investigated in rat liver microsomes (RLMs) using probe substrates (melatonin/phenacetin in vitro). Melatonin and phenacetin were incubated in RLMs with or without caffeic acid and quercetin, and the IC50 values were determined. The pharmacokinetics of melatonin conducted in rats after a single dose (15 mg/kg) pre-treatment with caffeic acid, quercetin and caffeic acid plus quercetin followed by oral dose of melatonin at 5 mg/kg. Analysis of all samples was with LC-MS/MS. RESULTS: Caffeic acid and quercetin did not alter Caco-2 permeability of melatonin in apical to basolateral direction and vice versa. Melatonin was metabolized in rat liver microsomes, which was inhibited by both caffeic acid and quercetin through CYP1A. The concomitant oral administration of melatonin along with 15 mg/kg of caffeic acid or quercetin or caffeic acid plus quercetin significantly (p < 0.05) increased the AUC0-t of melatonin by 30.0, 66.7 and 114.0%, respectively. The apparent oral rat plasma clearance (CL/F) of melatonin also decreased significantly (p < 0.05) by 28.78, 47.87 and 50% in presence of caffeic acid, quercetin and caffeic acid plus quercetin, respectively. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that caffeic acid and quercetin improved oral exposure of melatonin via CYP1A inhibition pathway.

Evaluation of physicochemical properties and intestinal permeability of six dietary polyphenols in human intestinal colon adenocarcinoma Caco-2 cells.

Phenolic compounds are common ingredients in many dietary supplements and functional foods. However, data concerning physicochemical properties and permeability of polyphenols on the intestinal epithelial cells are scarce. The aims of this study were to determine the experimental partition coefficient (Log P), and parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA), to characterize the bi-directional transport of six phenolic compounds viz. caffeic acid, chrysin, gallic acid, quercetin, resveratrol and rutin in Caco-2 cells. The experimental Log P values of six polyphenols were correlated (R (2) = 0.92) well with the calculated Log P values. The apparent permeability (P app) range of all polyphenols in PAMPA for the apical (AP) to basolateral (BL) was 1.18 ± 0.05 × 10(-6) to 5.90 ± 0.16 × 10(-6) cm/s. The apparent Caco-2 permeability (P app) range for the AP-BL was 0.96 ± 0.03 × 10(-6) to 3.80 ± 0.45 × 10(-6) cm/s. The efflux ratio of P app (BL → AP) to P app (AP → BL) for all phenolics was <2, suggesting greater permeability in the absorptive direction. Six compounds exhibited strong correlations between Log P and PAMPA/Caco-2 cell monolayer permeation data. Dietary six polyphenols were poorly absorbed through PAMPA and Caco-2 cells, and their transepithelial transports were mainly by passive diffusion.

Evaluation of inhibitory effects of caffeic acid and quercetin on human liver cytochrome p450 activities.

When herbal drugs and conventional allopathic drugs are used together, they can interact in our body which can lead to the potential for herb-drug interactions. This work was conducted to evaluate the herb-drug interaction potential of caffeic acid and quercetin mediated by cytochrome P450 (CYP) inhibition. Human liver microsomes (HLMs) were added to each selective probe substrates of cytochrome P450 enzymes with or without of caffeic acid and quercetin. IC50 , Ki values, and the types of inhibition were determined. Both caffeic acid and quercetin were potent competitive inhibitors of CYP1A2 (Ki = 1.16 and 0.93 µM, respectively) and CYP2C9 (Ki = 0.95 and 1.67 µM, respectively). Caffeic acid was a potent competitive inhibitor of CYP2D6 (Ki = 1.10 µM) and a weak inhibitor of CYP2C19 and CYP3A4 (IC50 > 100 µM). Quercetin was a potent competitive inhibitor of CYP 2C19 and CYP3A4 (Ki = 1.74 and 4.12 µM, respectively) and a moderate competitive inhibitor of CYP2D6 (Ki = 18.72 µM). These findings might be helpful for safe and effective use of polyphenols in clinical practice. Our data indicated that it is necessary to study the in vivo interactions between drugs and pharmaceuticals with dietary polyphenols.