An inhibition study of beauvericin on human and rat cytochrome P450 enzymes and its pharmacokinetics in rats

Abstract

Beauvericin is a secondary metabolite natural product from microorganisms and has been shown to have a new potential antifungal activity. In this study, the metabolism and inhibition of beauvericin in human liver microsomes (HLM) and rat liver microsomes (RLM) were investigated. The apparent K_m and V_max of beauvericin in HLM were determined by substrate depletion approach and its inhibitory effects on cytochromes P450 (CYP) activities were evaluated using probe substrates, with IC₅₀ and the (K_i) values were 1.2 μM (0.5 μM) and 1.3 μM (1.9 μM), respectively for CYP3A4/5 (midazolam) and CYP2C19 (mephenytoin). Similarly, beauvericin was also a potent inhibitor for CYP3A1/2 (IC₅₀: 1.3 μM) in RLM. Furthermore, the pharmacokinetics of beauvericin in the rat were studied after p.o administration alone and co-administration with ketoconazole, which indicated a pharmacodynamic function may play a role in the synergistic effect on antifungal activity.

Keywords::

• Inhibition
• cytochrome P450
• beauvericin
• pharmacokinetic
• antifungal effect

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Notes

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