In vitro metabolism study of the promising anticancer agent the lignan (-)-grandisin.

The lignan (-)-grandisin has shown important pharmacological activities, such as citotoxicity and antiangiogenic, antibacterial and trypanocidal activities. So, it has been considered as a potential drug candidate. In the early drug development process, drug metabolism is one of the main parameters that should be evaluated; therefore, the biotransformation of this lignan by rat liver microsomes was investigated for the first time. In order to perform the biotransformation study and to determine the kinetic parameters, a simple, sensitive and selective HPLC method was developed and fully validated. After method validation, the biotransformation study was accomplished and the kinetic parameters were determined. The biotransformation study obeyed the Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The V(max) and K(m) were 1.46 ± 0.034 μmol/mg protein/h and 8.99 ± 0.488 μM, respectively. In addition, the formation of dihydro-grandisin, characterized by GC-MS, by mammalian systems indicated the involvement of a CYP450 enzyme type.