Grapefruit juice has a bad reputation for being able to enhance the effects of some prescription drugs, with potentially harmful consequences. Researchers now speculate that eating orange marmalade may do the same thing. Marmalade may be made with tart Seville oranges, which--like grapefruit--contain a compound called dihydroxybergamottin that appears to be involved in such interactions. In a crossover study, researchers-had 10 volunteers drink sweetened Seville orange juice, diluted grapefruit juice, or regular orange juice with a single oral dose of the antihypertensive felodipine (Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. 69[1]:14-23, 2001). At each weekly test session, blood levels of felodipine were monitored for 24 hours. Peak levels of felodipine were nearly twice as high when volunteers drank grapefruit or Seville orange juice as when they drank regular orange juice. Seville orange juice and grapefruit juice, as well as the juice of the Sweety (a hybrid of a grapefruit and a pomelo), appear to interact with felodipine v ia a common mechanism. So we recommend squeezing your Sweety without taking drugs--and hold the marmalade!
COPYRIGHT 2001 International Medical News Group
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group
Contact
Home
A
Captagon