Malaysian traditional herbs: in-vitro cyp-herb interaction on cytochrome P2C9 enzyme / Aisyah Abdul Jalil

There are basically a vast quantity of plants which the Malaysians subsequently used as food additives, and herbal preparations. The herbal products are using the same metabolism pathway as the conventional drugs which are the metabolism pathway of Cytochrome P450 (CYP 450) enzymes, particularly the Cytochrome P2C9 enzyme. Concurrent use of drugs and herbs that are metabolized by the same Cytochrome may produce adverse effects such as increased toxic effect or decreased efficiency of the drug. An enzyme inhibition study is conducted using a fluorescence-based CYP450 Screening Kit to study the inhibition activity of 56 Malaysian traditional herbs. Results showed that all of the herbs produce negative inhibition on CYP 2C9 enzyme, except for Senduduk, Kayu Serapat and Tenggek Burung. In conclusion, the scientific finding on the CYP2C9 inhibition by Tenggek Burung, Kayu Serapat and Senduduk is a "one-step ahead" prevention of drug-herb adverse effects. With this knowledge, further investigations could be initiated and education of the local people on the drug-herb interactions would be on a more solid ground.