Cytochrome P450 isoenzymes in rat and human liver microsomes associate with the metabolism of total coumarins in Fructus Cnidii.

Fructus Cnidii (Cnidium) is isolated from the dry and ripe fruit of Cnidium monnier (L.) Cuss (umbelifera), an annual herb. It is demonstrated that the active constituents of Fructus Cnidii are coumarins, known as Total Coumarins of Cnidium Monnier (TCCM). Osthole (Ost) and imperatorin (Imp) are the most active constituents of TCCM which are usually regarded as the quality indicators of medicinal Fructus Cnidii. The aim is to study the metabolism of Fructus Cnidii effective monomer osthole and imperatorin in vitro by liver microsomes. CYP3A4 inhibitor ketoconazole, CYP2D6 inhibitor qunidine, CYP2C8 inhibitor trimethoprim, CYP2C9 inhibitor sulfaphenazole, and CYP1A2 inhibitor α-naphthoflavone were used to investigate the metabolism from incubation time, substrate concentration and liver microsomal concentration, respectively. The concentration of liver microsomes was 0.2 mg/ml. Ost (0.8/3.2/12.8 uM) was incubated at 37 °C for 20 min while Imp (1.6/6.4/19.2 uM) was incubated for 30 min. Qunidine, trimethoprim and α-naphthoflavone could significantly inhibit the disappearance of Imp; meanwhile ketoconazole, sulfaphenazole and qunidine could inhibit the disappearance of Ost. CYP1A, CYP2C are involved in the metabolism of Imp and CYP3A mediates the metabolism of Ost in rat liver microsomes. In human liver microsomes, CYP1A2, CYP2C8, CYP2D6 are involved in the metabolism of Imp; CYP3A4 is involved in the metabolism of Ost at all the tested concentrations of Ost, while CYP2C9, CYP2D6 mediate the metabolism at high concentration of Ost.