Hepatic drug metabolizing activity in rats with carrageenan-induced inflammation

Effect of carrageenan-induced inflammation on hepatic drug metabolism was studied in male and female Wistar rats. One day after treatment of male and female Wistar rats with carrageenan (1%, 0.1 ml, s.c.) (i) a prolongation of the duration of sleeping time induced by hexobarbital (100 mg/kg, i.p.), (ii) decreases biotransformation of hexobarbital, aminopyrine and ethylmorphine in the hepatic 9000 x g supernatants (S-9) and (iii) a decrease in cytochrome P-450 content were observed in males but not female rats. However, carrageenan treatment did not alter aniline hydroxylase activity in animals of either sex. Carrageenan also suppressed induction of hexobarbital, aminopyrine and ethylmorphine metabolism by phenobarbital treatment, and depressed the induction of hepatic S-9 cytochrome P-450 content caused by phenobarbital treatment. These data show that there is a sex-related difference in the ability of carrageenan to alter hepatic drug metabolism, which is substrate-specific, in the rats.