Australia. The Australian Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee (ADRAC) has received 14 reports, as on December 2002 describing possible drug interactions with grapefruit juice. Most of the reports involve interactions with dihydropyridine calcium channel antagonists (5 reports) and HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins, 5 reports). The committee reminds prescribers that several drug classes may interact with grapefruit juice and that patients receiving these drugs should be made aware of this possibility. Earlier, in June 2002, Health Canada had issued a similar warning about the possible interaction of grapefruit juice with certain drug substances, affecting their metabolism, leading to higher plasma concentrations of these drugs with serious and even life threatening consequences (WHO Pharmaceuticals Newsletter No. 3, 2002).

Reference:
Australian Adverse Drug Reactions Bulletin 21:14, Dec 2002. Available from URL: http://www.health.gov.au