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This is Scientific Americans Sixty Seconds Science. I’m Steve Mirsky. Got a minute?

You’ve no doubt heard that grapefruit juice can greatly increase the effects of some drugs. Even to a dangerous degree. Pharmacologist David Bailey made that discovery almost 20 years ago. A substance in the juice blocks an enzyme¹ that breaks down the drugs. Now Bailey’s back with a fresh finding—grapefruit juice, orange juice, apple juice and other fruit juices can also severely² decrease the absorption of certain drugs. He announced this discovery August 19th at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia.

Some of the drugs that have their dosages effectively decreased by various juices include medications that fight heart disease, infection and even the rejection³ of transplants. Key ingredients in the juices appear to block a molecule⁴ that carries drugs from the small intestine⁵ into the bloodstream. So a lot of the medication gets flushed out without ever reaching its target. Bailey says, "This is just the tip of the iceberg⁶.  I'm sure we'll find more and more drugs that are affected⁷ this way."  So when taking medications, a sip⁸ of H2O is probably the way to go.

Thanks for the minute for Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Steve Mirsky.