Effects of Atorvastatin on the Pharmacokinetics of Nicardipine after Oral and Intravenous Administration in Rats

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of atrovasatatin on the pharmacokinetics of nicardipine after oral and intravenous administration of nicardipine to rats. Nicardipine was administered orally (12 mg/kg) or intravenously (i.v., 4 mg/kg) without or with oral administration of atrovasatatin (0.3 or 1.0 mg/kg) to rats. The effect of atorvastatin on the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) as well as CYP3A4 activity was also evaluated. Atorvastatin inhibited CYP3A4 enzyme activity in a concentration-dependent manner with 50% inhibition concentration (IC50) of 48 mu M. Compared to the controls (nicardipine alone), the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) of nicardipine was significantly (1.0 mg/kg, p < 0.05) greater by 16.8-45.4%, and the peak plasma concentration (C-max) was significantly (1.0 mg/kg, p < 0.05) higher by 28.0% after oral administration of nicardipine with atorvastatin, respectively. Consequently, the relative bioavailability (R.B.) of nicardipine was increased by 1.17- to 1.45-fold and the absolute bioavailability (A.B.) of nicardipine with atrovasatatin was significantly greater by 16.7-20.9% compared to that of the controls (14.3%). Compared to the i.v. control, atrovasatatin did not significantly change pharmacokinetic parameters of i.v. administration nicardipine. The enhanced oral bioavailability of nicardipine by atorvastatin suggests that CYP3A subfamily-mediated metabolism were inhibited in the intestine and/or in the liver rather than P-gp-mediated efflux of nicardipine. Based on these results, modification of nicardipine of dosage regimen is required in the patients. Human studies are required to prove the above hypothesis.