Species and sex differences in the in vitro metabolism of apigenin (5,7,4'-trihydroxyflavone), a flavonoid abundant in plants, were examined using liver microsomes of rats, guinea pigs and hamsters and effect of two cytochrome P450 (P450) inducers, phenobarbital (PB) and 3-methylcholanthrene (MC), on apigenin metabolism was also examined. When incubated with animal liver microsomes and NADPH for 20 min at 37℃, apigenin was mainly oxidized to give a metabolite (M-1) in all species used in this study. M-1 was determined to be 3'-hydroxy-apigenin (luteolin) by a complete agreement of chromatog...
