Sildenafil

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Also indexed as:

Viagra

Sildenafil is a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED), commonly known as impotence, in men.

Herbs

Summary of Interactions for Sildenafil

Depletion or interference	None known
Adverse interaction	Grapefruit juice Pomegranate juice*
Side effect reduction/prevention	None known
Supportive interaction	None known
Reduced drug absorption/bioavailability	None known

An asterisk (*) next to an item in the summary indicates that the interaction is supported only by weak, fragmentary, and/or contradictory scientific evidence.

Other Interactions

Grapefruit juice

In one study, ingestion of 250 ml (approximately 1 cup) of grapefruit juice one hour before and together with sildenafil increased the total amount of sildenafil absorbed by 23%, but tended to delay the absorption of the drug.¹ The authors of this study recommended that sildenafil and grapefruit juice not be taken together.

Pomegranate juice

Pomegranate juice has been shown to inhibit the same enzyme that is inhibited by grapefruit juice.^{2, 3} The degree of inhibition is about the same for each of these juices. Therefore, it would be reasonable to expect that pomegranate juice might interact with sildenafil in the same way that grapefruit juice does.

References

1. Jetter A, Kinzig-Schippers M, Walchner-Bonjean M, et al. Effects of grapefruit juice on the pharmacokinetics of sildenafil. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2002;71:21-9.
2. Sorokin AV, Duncan B, Panetta R, Thompson PD. Rhabdomyolysis associated with pomegranate juice consumption. Am J Cardiol 2006;98:705-6.
3. Summers KM. Potential drug-food interactions with pomegranate juice. Ann Pharmacother 2006;40:1472-3.

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Last Review: 01-21-2009

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