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In vitro Effects of Four Native Brazilian Medicinal Plants in CYP3A4 mRNA Gene Expression, Glutathione Levels, and P-Glycoprotein Activity

Mazzari, ALDA; Milton, F; Frangos, S; Carvalho, ACB; Silveira, D; Rocha Neves, FDA; Prieto, JM; (2016) In vitro Effects of Four Native Brazilian Medicinal Plants in CYP3A4 mRNA Gene Expression, Glutathione Levels, and P-Glycoprotein Activity. Frontiers in Pharmacology , 7 , Article 265. 10.3389/fphar.2016.00265. Green open access

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Abstract

Erythrina mulungu Benth. (Fabaceae), Cordia verbenacea A. DC. (Boraginaceae), Solanum paniculatum L. (Solanaceae) and Lippia sidoides Cham. (Verbenaceae) are medicinal plant species native to Brazil shortlisted by the Brazilian National Health System for future clinical use. However, nothing is known about their effects in metabolic and transporter proteins, which could potentially lead to herb-drug interactions (HDI). In this work, we assess non-toxic concentrations (100 µg/mL) of the plant infusions for their in vitro ability to modulate CYP3A4 mRNA gene expression and intracellular glutathione levels in HepG2 cells, as well as P-glycoprotein (P-gp) activity in vincristineresistant Caco-2 cells (Caco-2 VCR). Their mechanisms of action were further studied by measuring the activation of human pregnane X receptor (hPXR) in transiently cotransfected HeLa cells and the inhibition of γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT) in HepG2 cells. Our results show that P-gp activity was not affected in any case and that only Solanum paniculatum was able to significantly change CYP3A4 mRNA gene expression (twofold decrease, p < 0.05), this being correlated with an antagonist effect upon hPXR (EC50 = 0.38 mg/mL). Total intracellular glutathione levels were significantly depleted by exposure to Solanum paniculatum (−44%, p < 0.001), Lippia sidoides (−12%, p < 0.05) and Cordia verbenacea (−47%, p < 0.001). The latter plant extract was able to decrease GGT activity (−48%, p < 0.01). In conclusion, this preclinical study shows that the administration of some of these herbal medicines may be able to cause disturbances to metabolic mechanisms in vitro. Although Erythrina mulungu appears safe in our tests, active pharmacovigilance is recommended for the other three species, especially in the case of Solanum paniculatum.

Type: Article
Title: In vitro Effects of Four Native Brazilian Medicinal Plants in CYP3A4 mRNA Gene Expression, Glutathione Levels, and P-Glycoprotein Activity
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2016.00265
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2016.00265
Language: English
Additional information: © 2016 Mazzari, Milton, Frangos, Carvalho, Silveira, de Assis Rocha Neves and Prieto. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Keywords: Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Pharmacology & Pharmacy, herbal medicines, Brazil, glutathione, CYP3A4, P-Glycoprotein, drug metabolism, ISOLATED RAT HEPATOCYTES, HERB-DRUG INTERACTIONS, PREGNANE X RECEPTOR, HEPG2 CELLS, ERYTHRINA-MULUNGU, GALLIC ACID, SOLANUM, ASSAY, EFFLUX, MICE
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy > Pharma and Bio Chemistry
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1508540
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