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Received for publication April 25, 2006.
Revised November 8, 2006.
Accepted for publication January 3, 2007.
Glabridin is a major constituent of the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra, which is commonly used in treatment of cardiovascular and central nervous system diseases. This study aimed to investigate the role of P-glycoprotein (PgP/MDR1) in the intestinal absorption of glabridin. The systemic bioavailability of glabridin was about 7.5% in rats, but increased when combined with verapamil. In single-pass perfused rat ileum with mesenteric vein cannulation, the permeability coefficient of glabridin based on drug disappearance in luminal perfusates (Plumen) was about 7-fold higher than that based on drug appearance in the blood (Pblood). Glabridin was mainly metabolized by glucuronidation and the metabolic capacity of intestine microsomes was 1/15 to 1/20 of that in liver microsomes. Polarized transport of glabridin was found in Caco-2 and MDCKII monolayers. Addition of verapamil in both apical (AP) and basolateral (BL) sides abolished the polarized transport of glabridin across Caco-2 cells. Incubation of verapamil significantly altered the intracellular accumulation and efflux of glabridin in Caco-2 cells. The transport of glabridin in the BL-AP direction was significantly higher in MDCKII cells overexpressing PgP/MDR1 than that in the control cells. Glabridin inhibited PgP-mediated transport of digoxin with an IC50 value of 2.56 µM, but stimulated PgP/MDR1 ATPase activity with a Km of 25.1 µM. The plasma AUC0-24h of glabridin in mdr1a(-/-) mice was 3.8-fold higher than that in wildtype mice. These findings indicate that glabridin is a substrate for PgP and both PgP/MDR1-mediated efflux and first-pass metabolism contribute to the low oral bioavailability of glabridin.
Key words:
ABC transporters, absorption, bioavailability, drug disposition, intestinal transport, mass spectrometry, membrane permeability, p-glycoprotein, pharmacokinetics