Effect of Cellgevity® Supplement on Selected Rat Liver Cytochrome P450 Enzyme Activity and Pharmacokinetic Parameters of Carbamazepine.

BACKGROUND

There is considerable evidence that many patients concurrently administer dietary supplements with conventional drugs, creating a risk for potential drug-supplement interaction. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Cellgevity® supplement on selected rat liver cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes. Also, based on our previous finding, we sought to determine the effect of Cellgevity® on the pharmacokinetics of carbamazepine, a CYP3A4 substrate.

METHODS

Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly put into 5 groups and administered either distilled water (negative control), Cellgevity® (3 separate doses), or phenobarbital (positive control), . Modulation of liver CYP enzyme activity was evaluated after 30 days of treatment, using probe substrates, spectroscopic, and high-performance liquid chromatographic methods. In the pharmacokinetic study, 12 SD rats were put into 2 groups and administered carbamazepine plus normal saline (group 1) or carbamazepine plus Cellgevity® (group 2), , both over a period of 14 days. Blood samples from rats in the same group were collected after treatment. Serum samples were prepared and pooled together at each specific sampling time point. Levels of carbamazepine were determined using a fluorescence polarization immunoassay.

RESULTS

Activities of rat liver CYP1A1/2, CYP2C9, and CYP2D6 were significantly increased by Cellgevity® after 30-day treatment. Pharmacokinetic parameters for rats administered carbamazepine with Cellgevity® vis-a-vis carbamazepine with normal saline were as follows: ; 20 mol/L vs 11 mol/L, AUC; 347 mol h/L vs 170 mol h/L, ; 0.28 h vs 0.41 h, and ; 2.3 h vs 1.7 h, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Cellgevity® increased the activity of rat CYP1A1/2, CYP2C9, and CYP2D6 enzymes and was found to alter the pharmacokinetics of carbamazepine in rats.