HEALTHCan Cannabidiol Interact With Standard Prescription Drugs?
April 29 2021, Updated 5:08 p.m. ET
Cannabidiol has little to no side effects and several positive effects. It can help people to cope with many different medical conditions and their symptoms. Now, does the above details mean that you may use it for any health condition as a form of self-treatment option? Doing so may mean skipping a consultation with a medical professional. This move may do you more harm than good because cannabidiol can interact with a few prescription drugs. This is why everyone who wants to use cannabidiol must talk to a certified medical professional before doing so.
Are you still not convinced regarding the significance of the above action? If you are not, you would only have to look at how many products that cannabidiol can interact with, to have more conviction in it. Search ‘CBD drug interactions list’, and you would come across many of those products.
The Connection Between Cytochrome P450 And Drug Metabolism
After a medical drug or some other substance enters it, the human body should metabolize or break down that product. While this form of metabolism occurs all over the human body, the liver plays a huge role in this process.
A group of enzymes known as CYP450 converts the substances that are ‘foreign’ to the body, to allow it to easily get rid of these substances. Anyhow, some substances or drugs have an effect on cytochrome P450 through the deceleration or acceleration of the said type of metabolism. This change in the rate of metabolism is likely to change the way the body processes the supplements or drugs that one consumes. The above is a medical drug interaction.
Related: How could CBD help you with anxiety and stress? Click here to learn more.
Is Cytochrome P450 Important With Regards To Cannabidiol And Medical Drugs? If Yes, Why?
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Many pieces of research show that the aforementioned enzyme is responsible for breaking down many phytocannabinoids, including cannabidiol. One of the most significant enzymes called ‘CYP3A4’ has that metabolizing effect. Anyhow, in this process, cannabidiol, too, interferes with the enzyme CYP3A4.
The enzyme must metabolize around 60% of medical drugs that require prescriptions under US law. Anyhow, the process of cannabidiol inhibiting Cytochrome P450 3A4, makes CBD unable to function all that effectively to metabolize the drugs that an individual consumes. The reverse is also likely to occur. Several drugs inhibit Cytochrome P450 3A4. If you use cannabidiol after the said forms of drugs, then your body could not function to process CBD as efficaciously as it could otherwise.
If the body metabolizes a pharmaceutical drug too slowly, then there might be more medicine count in the body at a single time than required. The above is likely to occur albeit you continue to take your usual dosage of the products for a particular number of days. A raised medication level in the body is likely to exaggerate the effects of the product, which may include dangerous secondary effects.
Certain substances accelerate the function of those CYP450 enzymes. Does your body metabolize some drugs too quickly as a different substance induces the enzymes? If yes, then there might be a lack of the product in your body at a given time to deal with that specific health condition.
Is It A Cannabidiol Side Effect?
Many refer to cannabidiol’s interaction with some form of a prescription drug as a side effect. This is the wrong word to describe the said phenomenon. Why? Because according to many medical experts and pieces of research, it is not one of the side effects of CBD, the right descriptor for it is ‘drug-drug interaction’.
For your information, the phrase ‘side effects’ refers to the negative, secondary results of a product. In the case of cannabidiol, the effects include nausea, sedation, drowsiness, fatigue, diarrhea, plus changes in user appetite. Many of the above will only last for a brief period. On the other hand, the interaction is no side effect. It is something that can make cannabidiol or the other therapeutic product less effective than if you use only one of these.
Is Cannabidiol The Only Substance That Can Interact With Prescription Drugs?
To cut the long story short, no. Products such as grapefruit and certain citrus juices related to the fruit can interact with around 100 drugs. This possibly occurs due to furanocoumarins in the fruits inhibiting CYP3A4, similarly to how cannabidiol does, which then makes the drug metabolization process slower.
Many of those drugs commonly come with grapefruit interaction-related warnings. Anyhow, every medication that comes under a class, does not require users to avoid eating the fruit. Therefore, it is more important to ask your medical professional about this or at least check the inside part of your drug’s packaging for the warnings.
Related: Are you curious about CBD and drug test results? Click here to learn more.
