Safety of Herbal Medicinal Products: Echinacea and Selected Alkylamides Do Not Induce CYP3A4 mRNA Expression.

ABSTRACT: A major safety concern with the use of herbal medicinal products (HMP) is their interactions with conventional medicines, which are often mediated via the cytochrome P450 (CYP) system. Echinacea is a widely used over-the-counter HMP, with proven immunomodulatory properties. Its increasing use makes research into its safety an urgent concern. Previously, we showed that Echinacea extracts and its alkylamides (thought to be important for Echinacea's immunomodulatory activity) mildly inhibit the enzymatic activity of the main drug metabolising CYP isoforms, but to this date, there is insufficient work on its ability to alter CYP expression levels. We now report for the first time the effect of a commercial Echinacea extract (Echinaforce) and four Echinacea alkylamides on the transcription of t

SUBMITTER: Modarai M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3095427 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature