Influence of Dietary Macronutrients on Induction of Hepatic Drug Metabolizing Enzymes by Coleus forskohlii Extract in Mice

From studies in mice, we have reported that Coleus forskohlii extract (CFE), a popular herbal weight-loss ingredient, markedly induced hepatic drug metabolizing enzymes, especially cytochrome P450 (CYP), and interacted with co-administered drugs. This study was designed to examine how the induction of drug metabolizing enzymes by CFE was influenced by different levels of macronutrients in the diet. Mice were fed a non-purified diet or semi-purified diet with and without CFE (0.3-0.5%) for 14-18 d, and changes in the ratio of liver weight to body weight, an indicator of hepatic CYP induction, and hepatic drug metabolizing enzymes were analyzed. The ratio of liver weight to body weight, content and activities of CYPs, and activity of glutathione S-transferase were higher in a semi-purified standard diet (AIN93G formula) group than in high sucrose (62.9%) and high fat (29.9%) diet groups. Different levels of protein (7%, 20%, and 33%) in the diets did not influence CFE-induced CYP induction or increase the ratio of liver weight to body weight. The effect of CFE on the ratio of liver weight to body weight was higher with a semi-purified diet than with a non-purified diet, and was similar between dietary administration and intragastric gavage when the CFE dose and the diet were the same. There was a positive correlation between CFE-induced CYP induction and the content of starch in the diets, suggesting that dietary starch potentiates CFE-induced CYP induction in mice. The mechanism of enhanced CYP induction remains unclear.