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Research Progress of Herbal Medicines on Drug Metabolizing Enzymes: Consideration Based on Toxicology
Shuting Wang1, Wanfang Li1, Jianbo Yang2
1New Drug Safety Evaluation Center, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China.
Abstract:
The clinical application of herbal medicines is increasing, but there is still a lack of comprehensive safety data and in-depth research into mechanisms of action. The composition of herbal medicines is complex, with each herb containing a variety of chemical components. Each of these components may affect the activity of metabolizing enzymes, which may lead to herb-drug interactions. It has been reported that the combined use of herbs and drugs can produce some unexpected interactions. Therefore, this study reviews the progress of research on safety issues caused by the effects of herbs on metabolizing enzymes with reference to six categories of drugs, including antithrombotic drugs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-diabetic drugs, statins lipid-lowering drugs, immunosuppressants, and antineoplastic drugs. Understanding the effects of herbs on the activity of metabolizing enzymes could help avoid the toxicity and adverse drug reactions resulting from the co-administration of herbs and drugs, and help doctors to reduce the risk of prescription incompatibility.
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