The inhibition and metabolism kinetics of tetrahydropalmatine (THP), protopine (PRO), and dehydrocorydaline (DHC), three major biologically active components of Corydalis yanhusuo W. T. Wang, which has been used for thousands of years in China, were evaluated in human liver microsomes (HLMs) to determine their potential for drug-drug interactions.2. THP acted as a mechanism-based inhibitor of cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6), with a Kinact of 0.053 min-1 and a Ki of 0.26 µM. It was metabolized by HLMs with a Km of 7.62 μM, Vmax of 0.071 nmol/min/mg, and intrinsic clearance (CLint) of 9.27 × 10-6 L/min/mg. The oxidative metabolism of THP involved CYP2C19, CYP3A4, CYP1A2, and CYP2D6.3. PRO was a mixed inhibitor (both competitive and non-competitive) of CYP2D6, with Ki of 0.023 µM and Kis of 0.042 µM. HLMs metabolized PRO with a Km of 3.99 μM, Vmax of 0.033 nmol/min/mg protein, and CLint of 8.20 × 10-6 L/min/mg. Its oxidative metabolism involved CYP2C19, CYP2D6, and CYP3A4.4. DHC was a weakly competitive inhibitor of CYP2D6 (Ki = 20.1 µM) and was no longer metabolized by HLMs.5. These findings indicate that CYP2D6 is a potential target for drug-drug interaction involving THP and PRO, whereas DHC exhibits minimal interaction potential.
Zhao et al. (Tue,) studied this question.