[MPWG] safety issues

[myron hardesty]

Regarding safety issues, let us not be letting the pot CONTINUE to call 
the kettle black.

-Myron


1: Planta Med. 2004 Sep;70(9):784-91.

Pharmacokinetic herb-drug interactions: are preventive screenings 
necessary and
appropriate?

Butterweck V, Derendorf H, Gaus W, Nahrstedt A, Schulz V, Unger M.

Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 
USA.

Pharmacokinetic interactions often occur as a result of activity 
changes of
drug-metabolizing and transporting proteins, especially cytochrome P450 
(CYP)
isoenzymes and P-glycoprotein (P-gp). The activity of these enzymes and 
drug
transporters can be enhanced or inhibited by synthetic drugs as well as 
by
natural products. Since the number of herb-drug interactions has 
increased in
recent years, systematic in vitro screenings and more clinical studies 
to
identify such interactions were proposed for herbal medicinal products. 
However,
previous results regarding this issue are not only contradictory but 
also of
less predictability. One reason for the discrepancies could be the lack 
of
validation of the recommended in vitro tests. Furthermore, it has to be
considered that pharmacokinetic drug interactions are not only mediated 
by
herbal medicines but also by several foods, beverages and life-style 
products.
Since herbal medicines are considered to have a broad therapeutic 
range, a
preventive risk assessment for pharmacokinetic drug interactions should 
first be
realized for synthetic drugs with a narrow therapeutic index. Efforts to
identify all possible interactions will lead to limitless 
investigations and to
inconsistent decisions.

Publication Types:
     Review
     Review, Tutorial

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