Construction of a model to estimate the CYP3A inhibitory effect of grapefruit juice.

Grapefruit juice (GFJ) is known to affect the pharmacokinetics of a variety of drugs administered concomitantly and this is due to inhibition of intestinal CYP3A, a barrier protein for drug absorption. Some compounds such as furanocoumarin derivatives have been reported as inhibitors of the enzyme. On the other hand, inhibitory potentials of GFJ on CYP3A-oxidation activities differ widely between brands of juices. Information on the percentage contributed by ingredients in GFJ is also limited. Therefore, construction of prediction models for the CYP3A inhibitory potentials of GFJ brands was attempted by using concentrations of ingredients in GFJ. Concentrations of bergaptol, bergamottin, 6', 7'-dihydroxybergamottin, naringin, and naringenin in 23 kinds of GFJ were determined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Furthermore, inhibitory effects on CYP3A activity were measured based on the initial rate for testosterone 6beta-hydroxylation in the presence of each GFJ. Results of multi-regression analyses between the ingredients and the enzymatic inhibitory effects revealed that concentrations of bergamottin, 6',7'-dihydroxybergamottin, and naringin were significant variables for CYP3A inhibition of GFJ. According to the standard partial regression coefficient for each explanatory variable, bergamottin and 6',7'-dihydroxybergamottin are the most important factors for inhibition. The multiple correlation coefficient (R) and the multiple correlation coefficient with leave-one-out cross validation (Q) of the model equation were 0.94 and 0.91, respectively. These results suggest that the concentrations of ingredients can explain most variances of inhibitory effects among brands. This model may be a useful method for the prediction of the GFJ interaction potential.