Predicting Drug Interaction of Clopidogrel on Microbial Metabolism of Diclofenac

Seven fungal cultures were studied for the metabolism of diclofenac in order to elucidate the nature of enzymes involved in biotransformation, as diclofenac is a specific substrate to cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C9 isozyme in mammals. The metabolites were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detection and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectroscopy analysis. The study included clopidogrel, a selective inhibitor of CYP2C9 isozyme, to inhibit the metabolism of diclofenac. Two-stage fermentation protocol was used to study the diclofenac metabolism and its inhibition by clopidogrel. Among the cultures studied, four have shown positive indication for drug interaction, since clopidogrel inhibited the metabolism of diclofenac in a dose-dependent manner. The results indicate that microbial cultures possess enzyme systems similar to mammals and they can be used to predict drug interactions in mammalian systems.