Green Tea Consumption Potentiates Paclitaxel Cytotoxic Efficacy in Vitro and Antitumor Efficacy in Vivo: A Pharmacodynamic and Pharmacokinetic Study.

Green tea, a commonly consumed beverage worldwide, is extensively used as dietary supplements for cancer prevention. However, the interaction between green tea and paclitaxel is still unknown. This study aimed to systematically investigate the herb-drug interaction of green tea consumption on the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of paclitaxel. The ATP assay results indicated that green tea extract (GTE) significantly enhanced the cytotoxicity of paclitaxel in both human and murine breast cancer cells. Further, the 4T-1 tumor model testified that daily green tea consumption could improve the therapeutic effects of paclitaxel on breast carcinoma. The pharmacokinetic profiles revealed that in the group with short-term green tea consumption (0.5 h), there was a more than 55.87% increase in the maximum plasma concentration (C) of paclitaxel and a 38.49% increase in the area under the plasma concentration curve (AUC). In the long-term green tea consumption group (2 weeks), there was a 23.80% increase in the C of paclitaxel and a 28.29% increase in the AUC. Moreover, long-term green tea consumption significantly reduced hepatic microsomal protein level. Taken together, green tea consumption enhances the anticancer efficacy and increases the pharmacokinetic profile of paclitaxel, which provides information to study the interaction between herbs and chemotherapy.