Complementary Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine

Chapter 4 / Herb and Dietary Supplement Interaction 49
4 Herb and Dietary Supplement
Interactions With
Cardiovascular Drugs
Dennis V. C. Awang, PhD, FCIC
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
ANTICOAGULANT–ANTIPLATELET INTERACTIONS
FOOD PLANTS/NUTRIENTS
LAXATIVE HERBS AND DRUGS
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
INTRODUCTION
In the wake of a remarkable increase in popularity of herbal products
and their attendant commercial success in the 1990s has come a wave of
publicity over the potential for detrimental effects of mixing herbs with
conventional drugs. Several alarmist articles in both the popular press
and medical journals ignore that herbs are generally less toxic than pharmaceuticals
and that currently there have been no deaths reported from
untoward herb–drug interactions. The majority of published herb–drug
interactions are based on case reports or extrapolation from in vitro
observations, and few are based on clinical studies, making it extremely
difficult to evaluate their soundness. Nonetheless, some prominent herbs,
such as garlic, ginkgo, and St. John’s wort, can have a significant influence
on coadministered medication. Herbal medicines may mimic,
From: Contemporary Cardiology
Complementary and Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine
Edited by: R. A. Stein and M. C. Oz © Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ
49