Influence of Five Herbal Medicines on Cytochrome P450 3A4 Drug-Metabolizing
Enzymes in Human Liver Microsomes

Hwang, Jin-woo; Go, Jae-eon; Go, Ho-yeon; Choi, You-kyung; Park, Jong-hyung; Jun, Chan-yong

The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine > Volume 29(4); 2008 > Article

Original Article

The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine 2008;29(4): 846-855.

수종 지혈 한약물이 Cytochrome P450 3A4 활성에 미치는 영향

황진우¹, 고재언², 고호연³, 최유경², 박종형², 전찬용²

¹국립의료원 한방진료부 한방내과
²경원대학교 한의과대학 내과학교실
³세명대학교 한의과대학 내과학교실

Influence of Five Herbal Medicines on Cytochrome P450 3A4 Drug-Metabolizing Enzymes in Human Liver Microsomes

Jin-woo Hwang¹, Jae-eon Go², Ho-yeon Go³, You-kyung Choi², Jong-hyung Park², Chan-yong Jun²

¹Department of Oriental internal Medicine, National Medical Center
²Department of internal Medicine, College of Oriental Medicine, Kyungwon University
³Department of internal Medicine, College of Oriental Medicine, Semyung University

Correspondence

Chan-yong Jun ,Tel: 02-425-3456, Fax: 02-425-3560, Email: joncy@kyungwon.ac.kr

Published online: December 30, 2008.

ABSTRACT

Objects:
The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of five herbal medicines on cytochrome P450 3A4 drug-metabolizing enzymes in human liver microsomes.

Methods :
To use human liver microsomes, an extract of five herbal medicines, which are Artemisia princeps Pampan, Sophora japonica Linne, Panax notoginseng F. H. Chen, Lithospermum Erythrorhizon Sieb., and Cirsium maackii Maxim, which together are called Jihyulyak(止血藥, drugs for arresting bleeding, hemostatics), was co-incubated and measured for relative enzyme activity in incubation condition compared to ketoconazole, a representative inhibitor of CYP 3A4.

Results:
We showed that all five of the traditional herbal medicines had no inhibition effect of CYP 3A4 at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50㎍/㎖ doses in human liver microsomes, although Sophora japonica Linne(SJL) showed a little inhibition at about 81% inhibition rate of control. However, this result is not enough to prove that SJL has a CYP 3A4 inhibition effect. Moreover, we can't make sure that those rates had significant induction effect on CYP 3A4.

Conclusions:
The result of this study could support that those herbal medicines are safer than chemical drugs, even if this is the basic step to prove that result.

Key words: cytochrome p450 3A4, herbs, ketoconazole, herb-drug interaction