Guest guest Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 March 21, 2006 Experts Reveal the Secret Powers of Grapefruit Juice By NICHOLAS BAKALAR In 1989, a group of Canadian researchers studying a blood pressure drug were astonished to discover that drinking a glass of grapefruit juice dangerously increased the drug's potency. Finding why juice had that effect was the next question. The answer, it turned out, lay in a family of enzymes called the cytochrome P-450 system, in particular one known as CYP 3A4. This enzyme metabolizes many drugs, and toxins as well, into substances that are less potent or more easily excreted or both. Grapefruit juice interferes with the ability of CYP 3A4 to do that, increasing the potency of a drug by letting more of it enter the bloodstream, in effect producing an excessive dose. Grapefruit interacts with this enzyme only in the intestines, not in the liver or other places where it is found. As a result, the effect is seen only with medicines taken orally, not with injected drugs.... http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/21/health/21grap.html? _r=1 & pagewanted=all & oref=slogin Sears PDX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Facinating. Is that perhaps why grapefruit juice is not the beverage of choice for college drinkers on Saturday morning? It might seriously be interesting to learn whether tomato juice has the opposite effect, because the 'ol bloody mary and V-8 are certainly almost universally popular as a hang over remedies. Mike (wondering if all those post frat party pains years ago may have been avoidable). From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of dm.bones@...Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2006 6:38 AMlistserve (E-mail)Subject: Grapefruits v. Big Pharma March 21, 2006 Experts Reveal the Secret Powers of Grapefruit Juice By NICHOLAS BAKALAR In 1989, a group of Canadian researchers studying a blood pressure drug were astonished to discover that drinking a glass of grapefruit juice dangerously increased the drug's potency. Finding why juice had that effect was the next question. The answer, it turned out, lay in a family of enzymes called the cytochrome P-450 system, in particular one known as CYP 3A4. This enzyme metabolizes many drugs, and toxins as well, into substances that are less potent or more easily excreted or both. Grapefruit juice interferes with the ability of CYP 3A4 to do that, increasing the potency of a drug by letting more of it enter the bloodstream, in effect producing an excessive dose. Grapefruit interacts with this enzyme only in the intestines, not in the liver or other places where it is found. As a result, the effect is seen only with medicines taken orally, not with injected drugs.... http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/21/health/21grap.html?_r=1 & pagewanted=all & oref=slogin Sears PDX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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