Unit FOOD-DRUG BIOCHEMICAL INTERACTIONS
- Course
- Pharmacy
- Study-unit Code
- A003578
- Curriculum
- In all curricula
- Teacher
- Michela Codini
- Teachers
-
- Michela Codini
- Hours
- 32 ore - Michela Codini
- CFU
- 4
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2023
- Offered
- 2026/27
- Learning activities
- Affine/integrativa
- Area
- Attività formative affini o integrative
- Sector
- BIO/10
- Type of study-unit
- Opzionale (Optional)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- Italian
- Contents
- Course Introduction. Pharmacokinetics in drug–food interactions. Effects of meals on drug metabolism at the gastrointestinal level. Effects of dietary supplements, spices, and herbal products on drug metabolism. Nutritional status and drugs.
- Reference texts
- Lecture slides and course notes.
- Educational objectives
- The primary aim of the course is to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand the therapeutic indications of specific drugs and to evaluate their potential interactions with foods, medicinal herbs, and spices used as dietary supplements.
- Prerequisites
- Successful completion of the examinations in Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, and Pharmacology is a prerequisite for this course.
- Teaching methods
- Classroom lectures covering all topics included in the syllabus.
- Other information
- Attendance at lectures is recommended.
- Learning verification modality
- Student assessment is conducted through an oral examination aimed at evaluating the student's level of knowledge and understanding of the theoretical content covered in the syllabus. The examination will also assess the student's ability to communicate effectively and to use appropriate and accurate subject-specific terminology.
- Extended program
- Possible mechanisms of interaction: pharmacokinetic and/or pharmacodynamic.
Review of pharmacokinetics: ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion).
Factors affecting drug absorption: drug-specific factors and patient-specific factors.
Drug-specific factors: solubility, partition coefficient, pH, pKa, dissolution, etc.
Patient-specific factors: age, sex, genetic polymorphisms, absorptive surface area, blood flow, gastric emptying rate, and intestinal transit time.
Factors influencing gastric emptying rate: meal composition, medications, emotional states, caloric liquids, and fluid volume.
Influence of food on drug dissolution: acid degradation, absorption, and complex formation.
Uptake transporters and efflux transporters.
Drug metabolism: Phase I reactions and Phase II reactions.
Studies of drug metabolism under fasting conditions and with standardized meals.
Drugs that should be administered with food, on an empty stomach, or regardless of food intake.
Effects of food on drug distribution: interactions with lipoproteins and plasma proteins.
Drug metabolism may be influenced by the proportion of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins in a meal.
Cruciferous vegetables, garlic, hawthorn, St. John’s wort, turmeric, black pepper, eleuthero (Siberian ginseng), ginseng, green tea, and grapefruit juice.
Drugs for which alcohol consumption should be avoided; drugs for which milk and dairy products should be avoided.
Coffee, caffeine-containing beverages, and drug interactions.
Drugs associated with weight loss.
Drugs associated with weight gain.
Drugs that alter gastrointestinal function.
Drugs that affect carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolism.
Possible effects of drugs on the absorption of minerals and vitamins.