Comparison of Paeoniflorin and Albiflorin on Human CYP3A4 and CYP2D6

Peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall-) is a plant medicine and a functional food ingredient with wide application for more than 2000 years. It can be coadministrated with many other drugs, composed of traditional Chinese medicine compound such as shaoyao-gancao decoction. In order to explore the efficacy and safety of peony, effects of paeoniflorin and albiflorin (the principal components of peony) on cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 and CYP2D6 were analyzed in human hepatoma HepG2 cells and evaluated from the level of recombinant CYP enzymes in vitro. The findings indicated that albiflorin possessed stronger regulation on the mRNA expression of CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 than paeoniflorin. For the protein level of CYP3A4, albiflorin showed significant induction or inhibition with the concentration increasing from 10(-7) M to 10(-5) M, but no remarkable variation was observed in paeoniflorin-treated group. Enzyme activity assay implied that both paeoniflorin and albiflorin could regulate CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 with varying degrees. The results showed that albiflorin should be given more attention because it may play a vital role on the overall efficacy of peony. The whole behavior of both paeoniflorin and albiflorin should be focused on ensuring the rationality and effectiveness of clinical application.