Significant pharmacokinetic differences of berberine are attributable to variations in gut microbiota between Africans and Chinese.

ABSTRACT: We investigated the influence of gut microbiotal metabolism on the pharmacokinetics of berberine in healthy male Africans and Chinese. The Cmax and AUC in the Africans were 2.67-fold and 2.0-fold higher than the Chinese, respectively. Microbiotal compositions by 16S rRNA pyrosequencing showed higher abundance of the genera Prevotella, Bacteroides, and Megamonas (34.22, 13.88, and 10.68%, respectively) in the Chinese than the Africans (30.08, 9.43, and 0.48%, respectively). Scatter plot showed a strong negative correlation between the microbiotal abundance and the berberine AUC, especially for the genus Prevotella (r = -0.813) and its species. A more extensive metabolism was observed in Chinese with 1.83-fold higher metabolites, possibly contributing to the lower AUC than the Africans. In c

SUBMITTER: Alolga RN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4901288 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature