The Effect of Vinpocetine on Human Cytochrome P450 Isoenzymes by Using a Cocktail Method

Vinpocetine is a derivative of the alkaloid vincamine, which had been prescribed for chronic cerebral vascular ischemia and acute ischemic stroke or used as a dietary supplement for its several different mechanisms of biological activities. However, information on the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme-mediated drug metabolism has not been previously studied. The present study was performed to investigate the effects of vinpocetine on CYPs activity, and cocktail method was used, respectively. To evaluate the effects of vinpocetine on the activity of human CYP3A4, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, and CYP2E1, human liver microsomes were utilized to incubate with the mixed CYPs probe substrates and the target components. The results indicate that vinpocetine exhibited weak inhibitory effect on the CYP2C9, where the IC(50) value is 68.96 μM, whereas the IC(50) values for CYP3A4, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, and CYP2E1 were all over range of 100 μM, which showed that vinpocetine had no apparent inhibitory effects on these CYPs. In conclusion, the results indicated that drugs metabolized by CYP2C9 coadministrated with vinpocetine may require attention or dose adjustment.