Influence of Sanguisorba officinalis, a mineral-rich plant drug, on the pharmacokinetics of ciprofloxacin in the rat

The significance of an interaction between ciprofloxacin and Sanguisorba of ficinalis L,. (SO), a mineral-rich herbal medicine, was evaluated in this s tudy. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (220-250 g) receiving ciprofloxacin dosages of 20 mg/kg po were concomitantly dosed with an aqueous extract of SO (equi valent to 2 g/kg crude drug). Blood and urine samples were collected over 6 and 24 h, respectively, for the quantitation of ciprofloxacin by HPLC. The presence of SO reduced significantly (P < 0.05) the maximum plasma concent ration, the area under the concentration-time curve and the urinary recover y of ciprofloxacin, by 94%, 78% and 79%, respectively, compared with rats r eceiving only ciprofloxacin, The presence of SO also caused an eight-fold a nd two-fold increase in drug distribution (V-d,V-lambda z/F) and terminal e limination half-life (t(1/2, lambda z)) from 30.8 L/kg and 1.96 h, respecti vely. Therefore, should the use of both agents be required, sufficient time should be allowed to ensure the efficacy of ciprofloxacin.