Hawthorn: Interference of hawthorn on serum digoxin measurements by immunoassays

[Guest guest]

Hello Everyone - Those who take Digoxin may want to show their doctor this study, below. As it concludes with "......a patient receiving digoxin should avoid Hawthorn." I have personally been using Hawthorn tablets for several years due to CFS/FMS related palpitations. As someone with quite low blood pressure I find Hawthorn works well for me with no adverse effects. Also, I am not on medications. I have been told that Hawthorn strengthens the heart muscle etc.

I also recall reading years ago that Hawthorn has an absurd ability (my words!) to either raise or lower blood pressure depending on the individual's genetic makeup... I suppose. Which means that in some people Hawthorn can raise already low blood pressure levels. Or lower already high blood pressure levels. That may sound good but it can have the opposite effect, too. The last thing anyone wants is to have high blood pressure raised higher or visa versa!

I grow medicinal herbs as food for healing purposes so that I can cope and feel better. But I would be the first person to say be very careful when self-medicating with herbs. Better to consult with a professional herbalist and/or do your herbal research thoroughly. As, about six years ago, back on our drought-ravaged property (inland Australia) there were a few spits of rain, one day. Over the days, young shoots poked through the parched earth and I mistook one wild plant to be an edible herb. It looked exactly like a herb shown in my Penelope Ody book: "The Complete Medicinal Herbal."

Big mistake! After ingesting it (in soup) along with a large handful of homegrown herbs I experienced for the first time ever, instant, projectile vomiting. It was frightening and taught me to be just as cautious in foraging edible herbs as in collecting wild mushrooms. There is another herbal story but as I've got long-winded here I'll leave it for another time.

Enjoy a peaceful, relaxing day ... Carlene

Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2010 Aug;134(8):1188-92.

Interference of hawthorn on serum digoxin measurements by immunoassays and pharmacodynamic interaction with digoxin.

Dasgupta A, Kidd L, Poindexter BJ, Bick RJ.

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Texas-Houston Medical School, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Amitava.Dasgupta@...

Abstract

CONTEXT: Hawthorn is an herb indicated for treating cardiac illness. Because a patient taking digoxin may also take hawthorn, we investigated potential interference of hawthorn in serum digoxin measurements using immunoassays as well as pharmacodynamic interaction between hawthorn and digoxin. Hawthorn contains alkaloids that are structurally similar to digoxin and may interfere with serum digoxin measurement using immunoassays. In addition, hawthorn has cardioactive properties similar to digoxin.

OBJECTIVE: To study potential pharmacodynamic interaction between hawthorn and digoxin.

DESIGN: The effects of hawthorn extract on serum digoxin measurements using Digoxin III (Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Illinois) and the Tina-Quant digoxin assay (Roche Diagnostics, Indianapolis, Indiana) were investigated using 2 different brands of extract. To study the pharmacodynamic interaction between hawthorn and digoxin, we used an isolated adult rat cardiomyocyte system, measuring calcium transients by real-time fluorescence spectrophotometry.

RESULTS: Hawthorn interfered only with the Digoxin III immunoassay but had no effect on the Tina-Quant assay. Both hawthorn extracts increased intracellular calcium levels, but the lack of additive response with digoxin suggests both may bind to the same site of Na, K adenosine triphosphatase.

CONCLUSION: Because of interference of hawthorn with a digoxin immunoassay and pharmacodynamic interaction with digoxin, a patient receiving digoxin should avoid hawthorn.

PMID: 20670141 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20670141?dopt=Abstract

More info at the following link.

What other drugs will affect digoxin?

http://www.drugs.com/digoxin.html