life Review Pharmacokinetic Interactions between Herbal Medicines and Drugs: Their Mechanisms and Clinical Relevance Laura Rombolà 1 , Damiana Scuteri 1,2 , Straface Marilisa 1, Chizuko Watanabe 3, Luigi Antonio Morrone 1, Giacinto Bagetta 1,2,* and Maria Tiziana Corasaniti 4 1 Preclinical and Translational Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, Section of Preclinical and Translational Pharmacology, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy;
[email protected] (L.R.);
[email protected] (D.S.);
[email protected] (S.M.);
[email protected] (L.A.M.) 2 Pharmacotechnology Documentation and Transfer Unit, Preclinical and Translational Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy 3 Department of Physiology and Anatomy, Tohoku Pharmaceutical University, 981-8558 Sendai, Japan;
[email protected] 4 School of Hospital Pharmacy, University “Magna Graecia” of Catanzaro and Department of Health Sciences, University “Magna Graecia” of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy;
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[email protected]; Tel.: +39-0984-493462 Received: 28 May 2020; Accepted: 30 June 2020; Published: 4 July 2020 Abstract: The therapeutic efficacy of a drug or its unexpected unwanted side effects may depend on the concurrent use of a medicinal plant. In particular, constituents in the medicinal plant extracts may influence drug bioavailability, metabolism and half-life, leading to drug toxicity or failure to obtain a therapeutic response. This narrative review focuses on clinical studies improving knowledge on the ability of selected herbal medicines to influence the pharmacokinetics of co-administered drugs. Moreover, in vitro studies are useful to anticipate potential herbal medicine-drug interactions.