Pre-treatment with Curcumin Enhances Plasma Concentrations of Losartan and Its Metabolite EXP3174 in Rats

The study was carried out in the Wistar rats to investigate the effect of curcumin pre-treatment on the pharmacokinetics of the hypertension-treating drug losartan and its metabolite EXP3174 following single oral administration. In the treatment group, rats were gavaged with losartan 10 mg/kg after repeat oral doses of curcumin (100 mg/kg, for 7 d), while rats in the control group were administrated only with the same dose losartan. The results showed that curcumin significantly increased the plasma concentrations of losartan and its metabolite EXP3174. The present study implicated the existence of herb-drug interaction between curcumin and losartan, and further evaluation of the possible interaction during curcumin administration needs to be considered.