Grapefruit can interact with many drugs to cause severe effects or death: study
Posted November 27, 2012 7:07 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Eating a grapefruit or drinking its juice can be a great way to get vitamin C, but it can also be dangerous when taking certain prescription drugs.
A study said grapefruit juice can interact with more than 85 oral medications, with almost 45 of them leading to severe, even deadly, consequences.
Pharmacologist David Bailey of Western University in London, Ont., says adverse effects can include sudden death, acute kidney or respiratory failure, and gastrointestinal bleeding.
Bailey said medications affected by grapefruit include cholesterol-lowering statins, some heart drugs, and certain anti-psychotic and pain medicines.
Grapefruit contains a chemical that interferes with an enzyme that controls how drugs are absorbed through the intestines, resulting in a potentially toxic dose of medication.
Other citrus fruits that contain the chemical to some degree include limes, pomelos and Seville oranges, which are often used in marmalade.
The list of medications include:
- Alfentanil (oral)
- Amiodarone
- Apixaban
- Atorvastatin
- Buspirone
- Clopidogrel
- Crizotinib
- Cyclosporine
- Darifenacin
- Dasatinib
- Dextromethorphan
- Domperidone
- Dronedarone
- Eplerenone
- Erlotinib
- Erythromycin
- Everolimus
- Felodipine
- Fentanyl (oral)
- Fesoterodine
- Halofantrine
- Ketamine (oral)
- Latatinib
- Lovastatin
- Lurasidone
- Maraviroc
- Nifedipine
- Nilotinib
- Oxycodone
- Pazopanib
- Pimozide
- Primaquine
- Quinine
- Quetiapine
- Quinidine
- Rilpivirine
- Rivaroxaban
- Silodosin
- Simvastatin
- Sirolimus
- Solifenacin
- Sunitinib
- Tacrolimus
- Tamsulosin
- Ticagrelor
- Triazolam
- Vandetanib
- Venurafenib
- Verapamil
- Ziprasidone