Effect of on Carbamazepine Pharmacokinetics in Rabbits.

Objectives: Carbamazepine (CBZ) is a well-known drug prescribed to treat epilepsy and the preferred drug for trigeminal neuralgia. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of extract (PGE) on the disposition of CBZ, a CYP3A4 substrate, in rabbits.

Materials And Methods: An randomized parallel design was used to examine herb-drug interactions in 12 male rabbits distributed into 2 groups. In the 1 group (control group), 6 rabbits (control group) were administered orally with CBZ suspension (30 mg/kg/day) as a single daily dose for 10 days. In the 2 group (test group), 6 rabbits was treated concomitantly with CBZ and a dose of PGE (2.5 mg/kg/day) at the same time as in the 1 group. Blood samples were withdrawn from the marginal ear vein of the rabbits at intervals of 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 4.0, 6.0, 12.0, and 24.0 h.

Results: CBZ had no significantly different pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters, namely, C, t, AUC, AUC, t, and K, when it was given alone or concurrently with PGE (p≥0.05).

Conclusion: PGE may unlikely interfere with the PK of CBZ when it is co-administered with CBZ. Therefore, PGE can be used safely without precautions or dose monitoring.