If you love grapefruit – in a fruit salad, in juice form or even simply with a mini-spoon of sugar as a starter, watch out! The National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) has issued a warning concerning interactions between grapefruit and certain medications… The health authorities’ publication, published in October 2008, is (re)gaining momentum on social networks.
An increase in adverse drug reactions
What exactly are we talking about? “So far, only grapefruit juice is known to interact strongly with a few medications. This is not a reduction in the effectiveness of these drugs, butan increase in the frequency and severity of their side effects” specifies the ANSM. In detail, certain substances present in grapefruit juice (bergamottin and 6,7-dihydroxybergamottin) would have the power to increase the intestinal absorption of certain drugs, with the consequence”an increase in their dose-dependent adverse effects, equivalent to an overdose.“
The list of medicines concerned
What medications are affected? First, drugs against cholesterol: simvastatin (Zocor, Lodales) and atorvastatin (Tahor). Then, immunosuppressive drugs: cyclosporine (Neoral) and tacrolimus (Prograf). Finally, medicines for the heart (…)
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