Pomegranate and licorice juices modulate metformin pharmacokinetics in rats.
OBJECTIVE
Food or drinks may significantly alter the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs which may lead to adverse events. A drug such as metformin is widely used to regulate plasma glucose level and pomegranate and licorice have been identified to help in type-2 diabetes management. However, the interactions of the latter on metformin pharmacokinetics were not studied. Therefore, we aimed here to study the impact of pomegranate and licorice on metformin pharmacokinetics in rats.


METHODS
Juices were given to rats for two days and half an hour before metformin (20 mg/kg) oral administration. Blood samples, then, were collected at different time intervals, processed and analyzed using validated reliable HPLC method. Plasma profile and pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated for each group.


CONCLUSIONS
Pre-administration of pomegranate significantly reduced metformin maximum plasma concentration from 1410 to 1031 ng/ml. On the other hand, pre-administration of licorice significantly delayed metformin reaching its maximum plasma concentration. In conclusion, pre-administration of pomegranate may potentially reduce efficacy of metformin while licorice might delay metformin action. Thus, both juices should be cautiously administrated with metformin, the mainstay drug for type-2 diabetes mellitus management.
Faculty of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of Petra, Amman, Jordan.
Riad
R
Awad
Faculty of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of Petra, Amman, Jordan.
Eyad
E
Mallah
Faculty of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of Petra, Amman, Jordan.
Bayan Al
BA
Khawaja
Faculty of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of Petra, Amman, Jordan.
Wael Abu
WA
Dayyih
Faculty of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Applied Science University, Amman, Jordan.
Feras
F
El-Hajji
Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Madaba, Amman, Jordan.
Khalid Z
KZ
Matalka
Faculty of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of Petra, Amman, Jordan.
Tawfiq
T
Arafat
D000818:Animals; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001628:Beverages; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005260:Female; D018565:Food-Drug Interactions; D006035:Glycyrrhiza; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D029561:Lythraceae; D008297:Male; D008687:Metformin / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D008687:Metformin