Research Interests

My lab is focused on Cytochrome P450 dependent drug metabolizing enzymes (CYP450s) that play critical roles in the bioactivation and detoxification of a wide variety of xenobiotic substances including drugs, antibiotics, carcinogens, organic solvents, environmental chemicals and endogenous compounds. We integrate many biochemical and molecular biology techniques to understand the roles of CYP450s and other drug metabolizing enzymes responsible for active metabolite formation, prediction of drug interactions due to inhibition or induction of CYP450s, regulation and function of CYP450s in disease state (especially in diabetes), mechanisms of drug-drug, herb-drug and food-drug interactions.

We are working with the effects of naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds on Cytochrome P450 and Phase II enzymes that activate or detoxify carcinogens. One of the possible mechanism by which flavonoids may exert their anti-carcinogenic effects is through an interaction by certain cytochrome P450 enzymes and Phase II enzymes, either by the inhibition or activation of these enzymes. 

Recently, studies concerning the extraction, fractionation (isolation), purification and detection of active compounds found in medicinal plants and determination of the anti-carcinogenic activities of active compounds were carried out in collaboration with other researchers.