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Is that the reason why it is advised against washing down pills with grapefruit juice? I know that it can cause overdose of the drug, but I'm not sure if it wor
by mamon 7y ago
Is that the reason why it is advised against washing down pills with grapefruit juice? I know that it can cause overdose of the drug, but I'm not sure if it works by affecting those gut microbes or by blocking some digestive enzyme that normally destroys like 90% of drug's active substance before it can be absorbed.
- ncmncm 7y agoGrapefruit interferes in a certain pathway in the liver. Some drugs are broken down in that pathway, so they stay longer in the body and build up, dose on dose, if you get too much grapefruit for too long. Other drugs are altered into their active form, or an intermediate; then, interfering with that keeps the drug from working at all. Furthermore, an intermediate form that is not supposed to last may be toxic, so you not only lose the dose, but get poison in its place. It has lately become difficult to find grapefruit candy in the US. I wonder if there has been a public health directive from the FDA or someone.