Grapefruit Interactions

Several components in grapefruit called furanocoumarins decrease the metabolism of some drugs for up to 72 hours after the consumption of grapefruit. This can result in an overdose of some medications as these drugs remain in the body for a longer period of time than expected. Eating grapefruit, drinking grapefruit juice or using a grapefruit extract supplement with the following medications may result in complications.

Amiodarone (Cordarone)
Atorvastatin (Lipitor)
Budesonide (Entocort)
Buspirone (BuSpar)
Calcium channel blockers
Cilostazol (Pletal)
Colchicine
Coumadin (Warfarin)
Eletriptan (Relpax)
Etoposide (Vepesid)
Halofantrine (Halfan)
Lovastatin (Mevacor)
Mifepristone (Mifeprex)
Nilotinib (used to treat certain types of leukemia)
Ortho Evra Patch
Pimozide (Orap)
Quinidine (Quinaglute, Quinidex)
Sildenafil (Viagra)
Simvastatin (Zocor)
Sirolimus (Rapamune)
Ziprasidone (Geodon)

Grapefruit is suspected of interacting with the following medications. Use grapefruit with caution if you use:

Albendazole (Albenza)
Alfentanil (Alfenta)
Alfuzosin (Uroxatral)
Almotriptan (Axert)
Aprepitant (Emend)
Aripiprazole (Abilify)
Bupropion (Wellbutrin, Zyban)
Carbamazepine (Tegretol)
Cinacalcet (Sensipar)
Clomipramine (Anafranil)
Cyclosporine (Neoral)
Darifenacin (Enablex)
Delavirdine (Rescriptor)
Dextromethorphan
Diazepam (Valium)
Dofetilide (Tikosyn)
Efavirenz (Sustiva)
Erlotinib (Tarceva)
Erythromycin (Eryc, E-mycin, Erythromid, Erybid)
Eszopiclone (Lunesta)
Felodipine (Renedil, Plendil)
Fexofenadine (Allegra)
Fluvoxamine (Luvox)
Gefitinib (Iressa)
Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec/Glivec)
Indinavir (Crixivan)
Itraconazole (Sporanox)
Losartan (Cozaar)
Methadone (Dolophine)
Methylprednisolone (Medrol)
Midazolam (Versed)
Montelukast (Singulair)
Nicardipine (Cardene)
Nifedipine (Procardia)
Nimodipine (Nimotop)
Nisoldipine (Sular)
Oxybutynin (Ditropan)
Propafenone (Rythmol)
Quetiapine fumarate (Seroquel)
Quinine
Ramelteon (Rozerem)
Saquinavir (Invirase)
Sertraline (Zoloft)
Solifenacin (Vesicare)
Tacrolimus (Prograf)
Tamoxifen (Nolvadex)
Tamsulosin (Flomax)
Tolterodine (Detrol)
Triazolam (Halcion)
Trazodone (Desyrel)

Other drugs may also interact with grapefruit. If you use any of the above prescription drugs talk to your doctor before eating grapefruit, drinking grapefruit juice or taking a grapefruit extract supplement.

Many herbs also interact with prescription medications. See this list.

Herbal remedy: If you have dental problems such as toothache pain try soaking cotton balls in Grapefruit Seed Extract and apply to the area of pain. Readers report this is very effective at relieving pain. For some it works better than benzocaine, aspirin, or ibuprofen.

For questions and answers about the side effects of herbs see the Herb Forum