Also indexed as: Cordarone, Pacerone
Amiodarone is a drug occasionally used to treat life-threatening arrhythmias of the heart.
Summary of
Interactions with Vitamins, Herbs, and Foods
In some cases, an herb or supplement may appear in more than one category, which may seem
contradictory. For clarification, read the full article for details about the summarized
interactions.
 May Be Beneficial: Side effect
reduction/prevention—Taking these supplements may help reduce the likelihood and/or
severity of a potential side effect caused by the medication. |
Vitamin E |
Avoid: Adverse interaction—Avoid these supplements when taking this
medication because taking them together may cause undesirable or dangerous results. |
Grapefruit juice Pomegranate juice* |
| Depletion or interference |
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.
Interactions with Dietary Supplements
Vitamin
E
Test tube research on human lung tissue suggests that vitamin E might reduce lung toxicity
caused by amiodarone.1 More research is needed to further investigate this
possibility.
Interactions with Foods and Other Compounds
Grapefruit juice
In one controlled study, drinking grapefruit juice while taking amiodarone dramatically
increased blood levels of the drug.2 Consequently, people taking amiodarone should
avoid drinking grapefruit juice (and eating grapefruit) to prevent potentially serious side
effects.
Pomegranate juice
Pomegranate juice has been shown to inhibit the same enzyme that is inhibited by grapefruit
juice.3 4 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
amiodarone in the same way that grapefruit juice does.
1. Kachel DL, Moyer TP, Martin WJ 2d. Amiodarone-induced injury of human pulmonary artery endothelial cells: Protection by alpha-tocopherol. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 1990;254:1107–12.
2. Libersa CC, Brique SA, Motte KB, et al. Dramatic inhibition of amiodarone metabolism induced by grapefruit juice. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2000;49:373–8.
3. Sorokin AV, Duncan B, Panetta R, Thompson PD. Rhabdomyolysis associated with pomegranate juice consumption. Am J Cardiol 2006;98:705–6.
4. Summers KM. Potential drug-food interactions with pomegranate juice. Ann Pharmacother 2006;40:1472–3.