In vitro effects of standardized extract of Bacopa monniera and its five individual active constituents on human P-glycoprotein activity.

1. For centuries Bacopa monniera (BM) has been used as an herbal drug for the treatment of various mental ailments. A chemically standardized alcoholic extract of BM is clinically available over the counter herbal remedy for memory enhancement in children and adults. Consumption of herbal preparations has been reported to alter the function of membrane transporters, especially P-glycoprotein (P-gp), ATP-dependent drug efflux transporter responsible for the development of herb-drug interactions. 2. In the present study, we evaluated the in vitro effect of BM extract and its five individual active constituents (namely, bacopaside I, bacopaside II and bacopasaponin C, bacoside A and bacoside A3) on P-gp function using luminescent P-gp ATPase assay and Rh123 transport assay across human MDR1 gene transfected LLC-GA5-COL150 cell line. 3. It was observed that BM extract and its five individual constituents inhibited both basal activity as well as verapamil-stimulated ATPase activity, suggesting their affinity towards P-gp. Further, BM and its five active constituents inhibited the rhodamine 123 (Rh123) transport across LLC-GA5-COL150 cell monolayer with bacopaside II being the most potent inhibitor of P-gp, which decreased P-gp efflux ratio of Rh123 by fourfold in comparison to control. 4. Our finding may prove beneficial in predicting the potential herb-drug interactions of BM on concomitant medication with P-gp substrate drugs in clinical settings.