Effects of Botrychium ternatum (Thunb) Sw. On Cytochrome P450 Activities in Rats

Drug interactions commonly occur through the activities of cytochrome P450 (CYP). In this study, we evaluated the effects of the Chinese herbal medicine Botrychium Ternatum (Thunb) Sw. (BT) on six CYP enzymes. Twelve healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups (n = 6 each), which were administered the same doses of the probe drugs via gavage. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was performed to detect the plasma concentrations of the probe drugs and their metabolites. Serum biochemical indicators in rats were analyzed to determine the effect of BT on hepatocytes and their anabolism. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was performed to assess the expression level of enzymes. The BT group showed lower AUC_(0-t) values and higher clearance rates for the probe drugs compared with the control group. Additionally, BT significantly increased the expression of six enzymes and decreased the levels of aspartate aminotransferase in rats. Therefore, dosage adjustment should be considered when patients are administered adjuvant BT-extract-containing drugs in combination with other drugs that are metabolized by the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes.