More Juices Found to Affect Drugs' Effectiveness: Study

HealthDay, August, 2008 by Kathleen Doheny, HealthDay Reporter

Grapefruit juice, long known to boost the absorption of certain medications, isn't the only juice that doesn't mix well with drugs, according to the Canadian researcher who first identified the ill effects of grapefruit juice.

Other common juices, including orange and apple, may limit the body's absorption of drugs, compromising their effectiveness, said David Bailey, a professor of medicine and pharmacology at the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario, Canada.

Bailey was expected to present his research Tuesday at the American Chemical Society's national meeting, in Philadelphia.

"The original finding is that [grapefruit juice] markedly boosts the amount of drug that gets into the bloodstream," Bailey said. He first reported that nearly 20 years ago when he discovered that grapefruit juice increased the body's blood levels of the drop felodipine (Plendil), used to treat high blood pressure.

Since the original finding, other researchers have ...