Common Supplement-Drug Interactions

[Harry Hirsute]

About one in four persons taking prescription medication also take a dietary supplement.1,2 According to the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), a dietary supplement can be a vitamin, a mineral, an herb or other botanical, an amino acid, or other such substances or their constituents. These supplements have demonstrated pharmacologic action used to produce therapeutic results.3 Even supplements that do not have a documented pharmacologic action can affect the absorption, metabolism, and disposition of other drugs.

The research literature regarding interactions between each of these supplements and other medications is rapidly and continually evolving. This review focuses on the use of dietary supplements in patients with chronic conditions, in whom the risk for dietary supplement-drug interaction is the greatest (Table 1).4-30 The information is based on a review of several sources, including the Medline, Embase, and Cinahl databases and an authoritative drug interaction reference.31 Table 2 lists resources available to check for drug interactions with dietary supplements.

Herbal and Dietary Supplement-Drug Interactions in Patients with Chronic Illnesses