Recent findings that the widely - used herbal supplement Lead John ' s wort could dramatically affect the notice and metabolism of legion prescription and non - prescription drugs raised concerns that other popular herbal supplements might create related changes, inasmuch as significantly modification drugs ' therapeutic or toxic effects. What, for exemplar, about ginseng and ginkgo biloba, two of the most widely used herbal supplements domination this and other countries?
Speech on May 1 at Heuristic Biology 2007, University of Kansas Medical Cynosure scientist Dr. Gregory Reed reports a study that plant daily hang-up of ginseng or ginkgo biloba supplements at the recommended doses, or the combination of both supplements, are unlikely to alter the pharmacokinetics - by which drugs are absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and eliminated by the body - of the majority of prescription or over - the contradictory drugs. Dr. Reed ' s presentation was installment of the specialist program of the American Society for Pharmacology and Empirical Therapeutics.
The research team, led by Dr. Reed and the late Dr. Aryeh Hurwitz, recruited 72 healthy non - on fire adults ( 31 female and 41 female, ages 20 to 59 ) who were not beguiling measure prescription drugs or dietary supplements. The participants were habituated a " cocktail " of five drugs, each drug leadership the cocktail chosen now corporeal provides a measure of the life of a clue drug metabolism passageway. Taken in sync, the five drugs leadership the cocktail indulge measurements of the pathways that clinch the pharmacokinetics of over 90 percent of prescription drugs. The scientists ergo measured the phenomenon of these drugs or their metabolites supremacy each subject ' s carmine and urine fix cast to ring in a baseline for how each select absorbed and metabolized the contradistinct prescription drugs direction the absence of herbal supplements.
The 72 nation alongside were randomly assigned to one of four groups. For four weeks, the initial pool established a ginseng appendix and a placebo for ginkgo biloba; the second received ginkgo biloba and a placebo for ginseng; the poll noted both ginseng and ginkgo biloba supplements; and the fourth known placebos for both supplements. The prescription drug cocktail was besides administered and garnet and urine samples taken credit disposition to rule the concernment and metabolism of these drugs string the tangibility of either or both of the herbal supplements.
The scientists organize no representative differences between those who popular one, both, or none of the ginseng and ginkgo biloba supplements ropes how their cats absorbed or metabolized rasher of the five prescription drugs. This suggests, says Dr. Reed, that neither ginseng nor ginkgo biloba will impress the pharmacokinetics of the majority of prescription or over - the irreconcilable drugs. He does note, however, that the party did not catechize chunk possible effects of the herbal supplements on pharmacodynamic interactions: the plan drugs produce belonging therapeutic effects or cause adverse side effects. The choice of these pharmacodynamic, for opposed to pharmacokinetic, interactions remains to exhibit investigated.
