Navigation Links
Study identifies substances in grapefruit juice that interact dangerously with some drugs

New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has identified and established the substance in grapefruit juice that causes potentially dangerous interactions with certain medications.

For almost a decade, people have been told by their doctors and pharmacists to avoid grapefruit juice if they are being treated with certain medications, including some drugs that control blood pressure or lower cholesterol. Studies have shown that grapefruit juice can cause more of these drugs to enter the blood stream, resulting in undesirable and even dangerous side effects.

The drugs affected by grapefruit juice usually have some difficulty entering the body after they are consumed because an intestinal enzyme, CYP3A, partially destroys them as they are absorbed. Grapefruit juice, but not other commonly consumed fruit juices, inhibits this enzyme, allowing more of these drugs to enter the body.

It was originally assumed that the ingredients responsible for drug interactions were the flavonoids that give grapefruit juice its bitter taste.

The new study shows that a group of chemicals called furanocoumarins are the likely culprit.

"This is the best evidence to date that furanocoumarins are the active ingredients in grapefruit juice that cause the interaction with medications," said Dr. Paul Watkins, the Dr. Verne S. Caviness distinguished professor of medicine and director of UNC's General Clinical Research Center (GCRC). Watkins led the study team.

A report of the new findings appears in the May issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

To determine whether furanocoumarins are responsible for grapefruit juice-drug interactions, Watkins worked with scientists at the Florida Department of Citrus to selectively remove only the furanocoumarins from the juice.He and his collaborators then studied the effect of the whole juice versus furanocoumarin-free juice on the ability to affect absorption of fel
'"/>

Source:University of North Carolina School of Medicine


Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. Novel Asthma Study Shows Multiple Genetic Input Required; Single-gene Solution Shot Down
2. Emory Study Tests Bone Marrow Stem Cells to Improve Circulation in Legs
3. UCLA Study Shows One-Third of Drug Ads in Medical Journals Do Not Contain References Supporting Medical Claims
4. Study Demonstrates Gene Expression Microarrays are Comparable and Reproducible
5. Study Links Ebola Outbreaks To Animal Carcasses
6. Breakthrough Microarray-based Technology for the Study of Cancer
7. NYU Study Reveals How Brains Immune System Fights Viral Encephalitis
8. Study finds more than one-third of human genome regulated by RNA
9. Leukemia Drug Breakthrough Study In New England Journal Of Medicine
10. Study identifies predictors of HIV drug resistance in patients beginning triple therapy
11. New Study from Affymetrix Laboratories Points to Changing View of How Genome Works
Post Your Comments:
(Date:12/14/2009)... Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) have founded a new journal ... CVET is a forum for research ... The first issue of the new quarterly journal ... BMES publications at Springer, Annals of Biomedical Engineering ... Cardiovascular Engineering and Technology will present a ...
(Date:12/14/2009)... Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change taking place ... ,Bend the Trend, event on Sunday evening to ... the screening of the new ,Environmental Atlas of ... joint project of the European Environment Agency (EEA), ... a series of short films showing the significance ...
(Date:12/13/2009)... University researchers has used nanosensors to measure cancer ... Their findings, which appear December 13 in the ... could dramatically simplify the way physicians test for ... , The teamled by Mark Reed, Yale,s Harold ... Tarek Fahmy, an associate professor of biomedical and ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Biomedical Engineering Society's new journal to be published by Springer 2'Environmental Atlas of Europe' unveiled at COP15 2Scientists use nanosensors for first time to measure cancer biomarkers in blood 2Flaxseed oil and osteoporosis 61929 1Flaxseed oil and osteoporosis 61929 2Research and legislation should go hand in hand as much as possible 10861 1Research and legislation should go hand in hand as much as possible 10861 2Sporicidin Brand Disinfectant Kills H1N1 in 3 Minutes 14943 1Sporicidin Brand Disinfectant Kills H1N1 in 3 Minutes 14943 2
... formation involves the carefully timed production of different types ... produced first, then astrocytes. Making too much of one ... a given time could lead to brain malformations. In ... Neurobiology Program at Children's Hospital Boston report discovering a ...
... at the expression of 70 genes linked to breast cancer ... according to an article in the September 6 issue of ... research, scientists at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam identified ... patients 55 years or younger with breast tumors under 5 ...
... for a rare inherited disorder that causes severe burning ... They found that paroxysmal extreme pain disorder (PEPD) is ... peripheral nerve cells—a discovery that they said emphasizes the ... findings of abnormal function in disease also provide insights ...
Other Biology News:Novel pathway regulates timing of brain cell development 2Gene signature assesses breast cancer outcomes 2Origin of inherited pain disorder pinpointed 2
(Date:12/10/2009)... SEATTLE, Dec. 10 Dendreon Corporation (Nasdaq: ... underwritten public offering of 15,000,000 shares of its common ... per share. Dendreon also granted to the underwriters ... 2,250,000 shares of common stock to cover overallotments, if ... December 15, 2009, subject to customary closing conditions. ,, ...
(Date:12/10/2009)... economy and markets exhibiting continued signs of growth, Sidoti ... research provider, will seek to educate investors on a ... market at the firm,s First 2010 Micro Cap ... Hyatt Hotel in New York, NY. ,, ... of Wall Street, but the well-informed investor has the ...
(Date:12/10/2009)... China, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- China Biologic,Products, Inc. ... "Company"), one of the,leading plasma-based biopharmaceutical companies in ... will ring the opening bell at the,NASDAQ MarketSite ... on Tuesday, December 15,2009. , ... the NASDAQ Global Market on,December 2, 2009, under ...
(Date:12/10/2009)... today that it has entered into a multi-year, sole-source supply ... for the use of Martek’s products in Fonterra’s infant formulas ... , ... Columbia, MD (Vocus) December ... announced today that it has entered into a multi-year, sole-source ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Dendreon Announces Pricing of Common Stock Offering 2Dendreon Announces Pricing of Common Stock Offering 3Technology, Biotech, Energy and Transportation Among the Industries to be Featured at Sidoti & Company's First Annual 2010 Micro Cap Conference 2China Biologic Products to Ring NASDAQ Opening Bell 2China Biologic Products to Ring NASDAQ Opening Bell 3Martek Signs Sole-Source Supply Agreement with Fonterra 2Martek Signs Sole-Source Supply Agreement with Fonterra 3
... , Introduction ... analysis is a genetic mapping technique that uses selective amplification of a subset ... genome. First developed for plant studies, AFLP analysis is used for a variety ... of genetic maps for new species. , ...
... Wild-type T4 Polynucleotide Kinase (PNK) (1,2,3) ... DNA and oligonucleotides. Labeling, in particular, can be accomplished by ... 1) (3) . Historically, T4 PNK has played a crucial ... in applications such as labeling of probes for hybridization, sequencing ...
... Introduction , ... studying human gene activity and thereby providing insight into ... the Expression Array System, a complete system for gene ... fully curated transcript data for array design), the 1700 ...
Other Biology Technology:Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) Analysis on Applied Biosystems Capillary Electrophoresis Systems 2Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) Analysis on Applied Biosystems Capillary Electrophoresis Systems 3Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) Analysis on Applied Biosystems Capillary Electrophoresis Systems 4Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) Analysis on Applied Biosystems Capillary Electrophoresis Systems 5 USB OptiKinase Eliminates Base Bias in Labeling of Oligonucleotide 5'-Ends 2 USB OptiKinase Eliminates Base Bias in Labeling of Oligonucleotide 5'-Ends 3 Genome Wide Profiling of Paired Cancerous and Normal Breast Tissues and Rapid Interpretation of Gene Expression Data 2 Genome Wide Profiling of Paired Cancerous and Normal Breast Tissues and Rapid Interpretation of Gene Expression Data 3 Genome Wide Profiling of Paired Cancerous and Normal Breast Tissues and Rapid Interpretation of Gene Expression Data 4 Genome Wide Profiling of Paired Cancerous and Normal Breast Tissues and Rapid Interpretation of Gene Expression Data 5 Genome Wide Profiling of Paired Cancerous and Normal Breast Tissues and Rapid Interpretation of Gene Expression Data 6 Genome Wide Profiling of Paired Cancerous and Normal Breast Tissues and Rapid Interpretation of Gene Expression Data 7
... If particles in the submicron range are ... process, measurement and control of particle size ... analyzer that can reliably detect the component ... N5 Submicron Particle Size Analyzer uses Photon ...
... Fermentation System to achieve high ... and maximum information output 4 ... precision with small-scale requirements provides users ... with E.coli, Pichia pastoris, yeast, fungi ...
... If particles in the submicron range ... development process, measurement and control of particle ... an analyzer that can reliably detect the ... The N5 Submicron Particle Size Analyzer uses ...
... Derived Activator of Caspase/DIABLO Liquid. In ... AVOID FREEZE/THAW CYCLES. Amino acid residues 56 - ... His•Tag ® sequence was expressed in and ... released along with cytochrome c during ...
Biology Products: