Bioanalytical Study of the Effect of Lycopene on the Pharmacokinetics of Theophylline in Rats

Lycopene, a natural pigment, was reported to have a modulatory effect on cytochrome P450, hence, metabolic clearance of some drugs. This research is concerned with studying the influence of lycopene on the pharmacokinetics of theophylline, a drug with a narrow therapeutic index. Lycopene (10 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally given to rats for eight consecutive days and on the eighth day of treatment, theophylline (5 mg/kg) was intravenously administered. Blood samples were withdrawn from rats at various time periods, treated and analyzed using HPLC. The HPLC method was based on isocratic elution of theophylline and caffeine as internal standard on ZORBAX Eclipse plus C-8 column using a mobile phase consisting of water and methanol (80:20, v/v) at a flow rate of 1 mL min(-1). Statistical analysis of the pharmacokinetic data using Paired t-test showed a significant decrease in AUC(0-t) and AUC(0-infinity) (about 22.140 and 23.824%, respectively,P < 0.05) and a significant increase in V-d and CL (1.28- and 1.40-fold, respectively, P < 0.05) of theophylline administered to rats pretreated with lycopene. Treatment with lycopene has a significant effect on the metabolic clearance and pharmacokinetics of theophylline in rats.