OGIRC

London Health Sciences Centre

University of Western Ontario
Dept. Clinical Pharmacology

The main focus of my laboratory is the conduct of translational (in vitro to in vivo human) research related to drug interactions mediated by natural products (foods, herbals, supplements).  Relevant to the OGIRC project is the action of gensing extracts with previously demonstrated potential usefulness on in vitro drug metabolism mediated by important members of the cytochrome P450 family, which are involved in the biotransformation and inactivation of most medications.  Initial studies will use specific recombinant cytochrome P450s (CYP3A4, CYP2D6, etc) and drug probes (felodipine, dextromethorphan, etc) to study inhibition of drug metabolism by the different extracts.  Capillary column gas chromatography and HPLC will monitor the rate of in vitro drug metabolism and determine mechanisms of inhibition.  Extracts demonstrating significant in vitro inhibitory activity have the potential to undergo more critical assessment in humans to determine whether this is a relevant alteration in the clinical pharmacokinetics of the drug probe.