Menthol reduces the anticoagulant effect of warfarin by inducing cytochrome P450 2C expression.

Abstract Recently, it was reported that the anticoagulant effect of warfarin was reduced when patients receiving warfarin also took menthol. The purpose of this study is to reveal the mechanism of this reduced anticoagulant effect of warfarin from the pharmacokinetic point of view. Warfarin was orally administered to mice 24 h after the administration of menthol for 2 days, and the plasma warfarin concentration was measured. In the menthol administration group, the area under the blood concentration time curve of warfarin was decreased by approximately 25%, while total clearance was increased to 1.3-fold compared to the control group. The hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C protein expression level in the menthol administration group was significantly increased compared to that in the control group. An increase in the nuclear translocation of constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) was also observed. The addition of menthol to human hepatic cells, HepaRG cells, caused an increase in the mRNA expression level of CYP2C9. The results of this study revealed that menthol causes an increase in CYP2C expression levels in the liver, which leads to an enhancement of warfarin metabolism, resulting in a decreased anticoagulant effect of warfarin. It was also suggested that menthol acted directly on the liver and increased the expression level of CYP2C by enhancing the nuclear translocation of CAR.