Effect of Carum carvi, a herbal bioenhancer on pharmacokinetics of antitubercular drugs: A study in healthy human volunteers

• Main Authors: Naiyma Choudhary, Vijay Khajuria, Zahid H Gillani, Vishal R Tandon, Ekta Arora
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2014-01-01
• Series: Perspectives in Clinical Research
• Subjects: Bioavailability; bioenhancer; Carum carvi; isoniazid; pyrazinamide; rifampicin; tuberculosis
• Online Access: http://www.picronline.org/article.asp?issn=2229-3485;year=2014;volume=5;issue=2;spage=80;epage=84;aulast=Choudhary

Aim and Objectives: The present study was undertaken in 20 healthy human volunteers to evaluate the effect of a herbal bioenhancer, Carum carvi on pharmacokinetics of rifampicin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide in fixed dose combination (FDC). Materials and Methods: It was a prospective, two-period, open-label, cross-over experiment on 20 healthy human male volunteers. The volunteers were administered a single dose of FDC containing rifampicin (450 mg), isoniazid (300 mg), and pyrazinamide (1000 mg) and after 10 days washout period the same FDC along with C. carvi extract (100 mg) was administered. Blood samples were collected at different time-points and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Detailed pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated, which included Cmax , area under curve (AUC), time to reach maximum plasma concentration (Tmax ), clearance (Cl), volume of distribution (Vd ), and half-life (t ½ ). Results: Additions of C. carvi extract lead to increase in plasma levels of rifampicin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide. The bioavailability indices Cmax of rifampicin increased from 4.57 ± 0.19 to 5.95 ± 0.19 (P = 0.000) and AUC increased from 40.11 ± 1.69 to 53.01 ± 1.88 (P = 0.000). Similarly, Cmax of isoniazid increased from 2.66 ± 0.16 to 3.62 ± 0.16 (P = 0.000) and AUC from 17.72 ± 0.78 to 22.87 ± 0.94 (P = 0.000). The bioavailability indices of pyrazinamide also revealed an increase in Cmax from 18.81 ± 0.79 to 25.06 ± 1.14 (P = 0.000) and AUC from 107.65 ± 4.42 to 137.71 ± 5.92 (P = 0.000), respectively. Conclusion: C. carvi acts as a bioenhancer and modifies the kinetics of antitubercular treatment (ATT) favorably.