Posted by Eddie Sylvano on February 13, 2003, at 16:20:05
In reply to Grapefruit Meds, posted by jsarirose on February 13, 2003, at 15:38:58
> Isn't grapefruit & grapefruit juice bad to have when you're taking certain drugs? Does anyone know what those drugs are? I can't remember if it pertained to anti-depressants or other meds I take.
--------------------This has to do with the fact that something in the juice inhibits the action of certain enzymes in the intestine. If those enzymes were necessary to break down the drug you were taking, the net effect is that more of the drug gets into your bloodstream than would ordinarily (you get more effect from the drug). This should only be an issue if you're taking the drug at roughly (~2 hrs) the same time as the juice. The enzymes affected by grapefruit juice are CYP3A4 and CYP1A2. Some psychiatric drugs that are broken down by these enzymes include:
Buspirone
Alprazolam
Triazolam
Midazolam
Carbamazepine
Trazodone
Nefazodone
Quetiapine
Clozapine
HaloperidolYour particular drug insert may tell you which CYP450 enzymes are responsible for the drug's breakdown. This is also roughly the same process by which drugs interact with each other, since each drug (just like the grapefruit juice) inhibits or enables their own particular set of enzymes. Some drugs can even inhibit the enzymes responsible for their own metabolism. Craziness.
poster:Eddie Sylvano
thread:200153
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030208/msgs/200158.html