2007 Volume 33 Issue 6 Pages 534-539
The coadministration of fluoroquinolones with metallic cation-containing compounds such as aojiru (green juice) products inhibits the gastrointestinal absorption of fluoroquinolones and decreases their antimicrobial activity.Classified as health foods,aojiru products are easy to obtain and used widely.While the reaction between the vitamin K in aojiru products and warfarin is well-documented,no studies had been done on the interaction between metallic cations in aojiru products and various drugs.
In the present study,we investigated the current use of health foods by 124 patients visiting three pharmacies in Fukuoka city by having them complete a questionnaire.Two-thirds of the patients regularly took various health foods (46 items) and 14 of them contained metallic cations.Seven patients were taking aojiru products.
We then examined the interaction between the aojiru products and several fluoroquinolones (norfloxacin,ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin) by measuring absorbance in their maximum absorption spectra.The results suggested that chelation occurred when some aojiru products were combined with fluoroquinolones.Since the use of health foods as self-medication is on the increase,it is essential to be aware of the potential interactions between drugs and health foods.
