1. Bufalin (BF), one of the major bioactive compounds in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Chansu, has been found with various pharmacological and toxicological effects. This study aims to investigate the species differences in phase I metabolism of BF in hepatic microsomes from human and five common experimental animals. 2. Metabolite profiling demonstrated that two major metabolites were formed in liver microsomes from human and animal species in NADPH-generating system. Two major metabolites were identified as 5β-hydroxyl-bufalin and 3-keto-bufalin, with the help of authentic standards. CYP3A was assigned as the main isoform involved in both 5β-hydroxylation and 3-oxidation in all studied liver microsomes. The apparent kinetic parameters including substrate affinity and catalytic efficiency for 5β-hydroxylation and 3-oxidation of BF were also determined. 3. In summary, CYP3A mediated 5β-hydroxylation and 3-oxidation were two major metabolic pathways of BF in hepatic microsomes from human and five studied animals, but kinetic analysis demonstrated that the intrinsic clearances of these two metabolic pathways were much different among various species. The qualitative and quantitative interspecies study indicated that minipig exhibited the similar metabolic profile, kinetic behaviors and intrinsic metabolic clearances of BF phase I biotransformation in comparison with that of human.
Keywords: 3-Oxidation; 5β-hydroxylation; bufalin; cytochrome P450 3A; species differences.