- Prescribing Advice for GPs - https://www.prescriber.org.uk -

Fruit juice may affect drugs

The BBC has reported a recent finding that suggests fruit juices may block the uptake of medication from the bowel.

It is already know that grapefruit juice interacts with several medications (including antipsychotics, calcium channel blockers and statins) resulting in elevated blood levels of the affected drugs.

Recent studies have identified that grapefruit juice had the reverse effect on the antihistamine fexofenadine resulting in absorption being reduced to approximately half that observed in patients who took the medication with water. It has also been suggested that orange and apple juice may have a similar effect.

Action: Further research is needed to establish and confirm these interactions. It would be prudent to advise patients to take their medication with water until the clinical importance of any interactions is known.