Research Projects

Herbal Dietary Supplements (HDS) are increasingly used as alternative medicines, but herb-drug interactions can cause unwanted adverse effects. HDS contain phytochemicals that interact with drug-metabolizing enzymes, such as CYP, which can alter the pharmacokinetics of co-administered drugs. Understanding HDIs, particularly drug absorption, metabolism, elimination, and transport, is crucial to prevent adverse drug effects. The World Health Organization (WHO) supports studies on HDIs and promotes their monitoring. The FDA and EMA recommend PK-based HDI studies for phytopharmaceuticals under development and in the market. Transcriptome analysis can provide a deeper understanding of HDI interactions, allowing for safer administration with strong CYP inhibitors and inducers. Combination therapy may improve therapeutic efficacy, and transcriptome analysis can reveal how HDI affects related pathways under different medical circumstances and drug co-administration.