In vitro metabolism of the alkaloid piplartine by rat liver microsomes.

•Piplartine metabolism by rat liver microsomes was investigated for the first time.•The in vitro metabolism yielded two monohydroxylated products.•The enzymatic kinetic parameters revealed a sigmoidal profile.•The isoenzyme responsible for the metabolism possesses at least three binding sites.•Microsomes showed to be a useful and simple tool to in vitro metabolism studies.