Is Grapefruit Juice Safe with Nifedipine?
Free · No account · based on published sources including NIH ODS, FDA drug labels, and peer-reviewed literature
Do not consume grapefruit or grapefruit juice during treatment. Use orange juice or other alternatives instead. Report symptoms like dizziness, flushing, or rapid heartbeat immediately.
Why this interaction occurs
Furanocoumarins in grapefruit inhibit CYP3A4-mediated metabolism of nifedipine in the gut wall, increasing bioavailability by approximately 34–134%. This can precipitate severe hypotension, headache, and peripheral edema, particularly dangerous in elderly patients.
Evidence
Evidence level: strong.
Data source
PubMed: PMID 32104359, PMID 23696038
Reported safety data
The FDA’s adverse event reporting system (FAERS) has received 43,783 reports mentioning Nifedipine. This reflects reported cases involving the medication in general — not confirmed causation, and not specific to the Nifedipine + supplement combination on this page.
FAERS reports are voluntary and cannot prove that a drug caused an event. Do not use report counts to assess the safety of this specific drug-supplement pair.
Frequently asked questions
Related interactions
All Grapefruit Juice interactions → · All Nifedipine interactions →
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Educational only — not medical advice.
Always confirm with your doctor or pharmacist.