2013 Volume 23 Issue 4 Pages 225-234
In Japan, the use of health foods has increased with the rise in the prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases, with a consequent increase in health damage. Health foods that have caused health damage include green juice, aloe, Agaricus, and turmeric. Among them, turmeric affects the drug-metabolizing enzyme cytochrome P450 (CYP) and may cause changes in the effects of drugs. In this study, the state of intake of health foods and concomitant use of turmeric and drugs were investigated in individuals who were administered drugs.
In Study 1, the state of intake of health foods, whether turmeric was used with other drugs, and changes in the perceived state of health were evaluated. As a result, 471 (53. 8%) of the 874 subjects had used health foods, of which turmeric was the most frequent. Of these 471 subjects, 55 (11. 7%) had used turmeric with other drugs. Hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes were frequently observed in these 55 patients. Those who had used turmeric with other drugs reported no change in the perceive state of health.
In Study 2, the disease name, names of the drugs administered, changes in the perceived state of health, and changes in the laboratory results were investigated in 7 individuals who consented. The most frequent disease in these 7 patients was hypertension. About 1/3 of the drugs administered were those that are metabolized by CYP3A4, but their concomitant use with turmeric caused no change in the perceive state of health or exerted no notable effect on the laboratory results.
The results of this study suggest that the concomitant use of turmeric with drugs does not affect the perceived state of health or laboratory results. Further studies on the concomitant use of health foods and drugs primarily in patients with lifestyle-related diseases are awaited.
