Grapefruit Fragrances and medication
- Thread starter culcreuch
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Apparently
"The authors report that grapefruit, grapefruit juice, and some other citrus fruit, including Seville oranges, limes and pomelos, contain a class of chemical called furanocoumarins. Furanocoumarins inhibit an enzyme, cytochrome P450 3A4, that is responsible for the inactivation of approximately half of all drugs.
This enzyme is found in the lining of the gut and in the liver. Furanocoumarins in grapefruit mainly inhibit cytochrome P450 3A4 in the gut.
This means that if a drug that is normally broken down by cytochrome P450 3A4 is taken at the same time as grapefruit, more ‘active' drug will be absorbed by the body, as less will have been inactivated by the enzyme.
The prescribed dose of these drugs takes into account the fact that some of the drug will be inactivated by P450 3A4. So if this doesn't occur, it leads to the person being exposed to higher concentrations of the drug than was intended, and this can have adverse effects."
So it's the edible part of the grapefruit that causes the problem and not the 'smelly' part. The scent chemical is (R)-2-(4-methylcyclohex-3-enyl)propane-2-thiol.
I was interested in this 'cos I take a cocktail of hypertension meds but none of them are calcium channel blockers so I can have grapefruit. Unfortunately, I don't like it!
"The authors report that grapefruit, grapefruit juice, and some other citrus fruit, including Seville oranges, limes and pomelos, contain a class of chemical called furanocoumarins. Furanocoumarins inhibit an enzyme, cytochrome P450 3A4, that is responsible for the inactivation of approximately half of all drugs.
This enzyme is found in the lining of the gut and in the liver. Furanocoumarins in grapefruit mainly inhibit cytochrome P450 3A4 in the gut.
This means that if a drug that is normally broken down by cytochrome P450 3A4 is taken at the same time as grapefruit, more ‘active' drug will be absorbed by the body, as less will have been inactivated by the enzyme.
The prescribed dose of these drugs takes into account the fact that some of the drug will be inactivated by P450 3A4. So if this doesn't occur, it leads to the person being exposed to higher concentrations of the drug than was intended, and this can have adverse effects."
So it's the edible part of the grapefruit that causes the problem and not the 'smelly' part. The scent chemical is (R)-2-(4-methylcyclohex-3-enyl)propane-2-thiol.
I was interested in this 'cos I take a cocktail of hypertension meds but none of them are calcium channel blockers so I can have grapefruit. Unfortunately, I don't like it!