Negligible Effect of Ginkgo Biloba Extract on the Pharmacokinetics of Cilostazol

Ginkgo biloba (G. biloba) extract is a widely used phytomedicine for the oral treatment of peripheral vascular disease. Cilostazol is a synthetic antiplatelet and vasodilating agent for the treatment of intermittent claudication resulting from peripheral arterial disease. It is likely to use concomitantly G. biloba extract and cilostazol for the treatment of peripheral arterial disease, which raises a concern of increasing their adverse effects of herbal-drug interactions. To clarify any possible herbal-drug interaction between G. biloba extract and cilostazol, the effect of the G. biloba extract on the pharmacokinetics of cilostazol was investigated. As cilostazol is known to be eliminated mainly by cytochrome P450 (CYP)-mediated metabolism, we investigated the effects of G. biloba extract on the human CYP enzyme activities and the effect of G. biloba extract on the pharmacokinetics of cilostazol after co-administration of the two agents to male beagle dogs. The G. biloba extract inhibited more or less CYP2C8, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19 enzyme activities in the in vitro microsomal study with IC50 values of 30.8, 60.5, and 25.2 mu g/ml, respectively. In the pharmacokinetic study, co-administration with the G. biloba extract had no significant effect on the pharmacokinetics of cilostazol in dogs, although CYP2C has been reported to be responsible for the metabolism of cilostazol. In conclusion, these results suggest that there may not be a pharmacokinetic interaction between G. biloba extract and cilostazol.