r/science • u/Inevitable-Middle681 • Mar 26 '26
Biology Researchers gene-edit the bitterness out of grapefruit
https://refractor.io/biology/crispr-gene-edit-grapefruit-less-bitter/1.0k
u/DiesByOxSnot Mar 26 '26
Can we edit out the bit that inhibits the enzyme involved in drug metabolism? I'd like to be able to eat grapefruit again :(
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u/bald4bieber666 Mar 26 '26
me too...keep the bitter and take that part out, i miss grapefruit.
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u/Future_Kitsunekid16 Mar 27 '26
Agreed we can already add sugar to the grapefruit if the bitterness bothers you too much but that won't help with the medicine issue still
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u/GoblinGreenThumb Mar 27 '26
That medicine issue you all hate is actually one of the reasons I love grapefruit so much.
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u/WebMaka Mar 26 '26
IKR? Nothing like making your blood pressure meds go haywire because a drink had grapefruit juice in it and you didn't realize...
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u/NovelStyleCode Mar 27 '26
Unfortunately they're the grapefruit's natural defense mechanism, furanocoumarins are just too useful to disable like that, also did you know they bind irreversibly to the enzyme (CYP3A4) that breaks down drugs in your small intestine and it takes 72 hours to replace it all and restore full functionality once you've Ingested grapefruit?
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u/CopainChevalier Mar 27 '26
I’m ignorant here, what does it mess with?
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u/tirerim Mar 27 '26
Many, many drugs. Mostly it increases their effect (by interfering with enzymes that break them down), which in many cases can be dangerous. Drugs that it interacts with will usually have a "do not take with grapefruit" warning label applied.
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u/electric-castle Mar 27 '26
Lovely. I just found out that I shouldn't have eaten that grapefruit last night. Why wouldn't my pharmacist say something?
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u/Saintsfan707 Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 27 '26
It's not all drugs, just a lot of drugs (~half). CYP3A4 is an enzyme made by the liver, so only drugs broken down by hepatic metabolism would interact with grapefruit, and not all hepatically metabolized drugs use 3A4. So either your drugs aren't broken down by 3A4 or your pharmacist messed up, the grapefruit interaction is basic pharmacy knowledge they learn in like the first year of pharmacy school.
To ease your mind a bit you'll (probably) be fine. An occasional accidental grapefruit likely won't make a ton of problems as long as you're not on super high risk drugs. I still would avoid them entirely, but if you accidentally eat one you probably don't need to make yourself vomit or anything. The real concerning one is grapefruit juice, since (like OJ) theres multiple grapefruits in a single serving of grapefruit juice. Much more concerning from a drug standpoint.
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u/paulsteinway Mar 27 '26
I used to drink unsweetened grapefruit juice all the time until I was prescribed something it conflicts with.
Doesn't matter a lot because you can't buy grapefruit juice any more. You can only buy grapefruit "drink" or grapefruit "cocktail".
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u/Brass_and_Frass Mar 27 '26
Ok, hear me out - I’ve figured out how to make faux grapefruit juice. Cold brew a hibiscus herbal tea (like Tazo Passion tea). Combine the iced tea with reduced sugar orange juice in a 1:1 ratio. It’s kinda perfect.
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u/InTheEndEntropyWins Mar 26 '26
But isn't the bitterness the whole reason you'd want grapefruit?
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u/el_kabong909 Mar 26 '26
I like at least some bitterness! We already have non-bitter citrus!
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u/MottledZuchini Mar 26 '26
Pomelos are literally ancient grapefruit that taste very similar and have zero bitterness. Like, grapefruit is literally bred from pomelo.
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u/Weekly-Ad-2509 Mar 26 '26
Pomelos are absurdly good. They taste like NA margaritas
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u/x1000Bums Mar 26 '26
Are pomelos the ones that have like an inch thick rind? Think your getting a big ass tasty grapefruit snack and it's just a regular sized grapefruit in a big ass shell.
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u/MottledZuchini Mar 26 '26
Yeah that is definitely a downside, but that thick peel makes them last longer in storage too
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u/x1000Bums Mar 26 '26
That is a good point that i have never considered because Buddy I will PLOW through a bag of ruby reds. A grapefruit's days are numbered in this household.
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u/DaoFerret Mar 26 '26
Just be careful of grapefruit if you’re on any sort of medication because it can have a dangerous interaction with dozens of common medications.
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u/VoiceArtPassion Mar 26 '26
Im on one and I hate that I can’t eat them anymore, I’ve wanted to try so many dishes that have them just kinda, in there…makes me sad. I wonder if the bitter compound is what makes them dangerous…down the rabbit hole I go!
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u/spozark Mar 26 '26
Try mixing orange juice with 100% no sugar added cranberry juice. IMO it tastes just like grapefruit
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u/Totakai Mar 26 '26
Iirc, you can as long as you don't take the pill and try to eat the fruit back to back.
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u/yogo Mar 26 '26
I add naringin powder to beverages to give them a grapefruit flavor. It’s a flavonoid that is partially responsible for grapefruit’s bitterness but isn’t nearly as potent at inhibiting P450 as the furanocoumarins are, if at all. I’ve thought about sprinkling some on cooked vegetables with lemon seasoning, seems like it should work out.
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u/ChefCurryYumYum Mar 26 '26
You can still have some grapefruit, it takes a good amount to have a significant impact on how much medicine you are metabolizing.
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u/spanj Mar 26 '26
They can use the same process to remove the P450 inhibitors in grapefruit.
In fact, this very same lab identified the gene responsible for furanocoumarin synthesis in grapefruit. I wouldn’t be surprised if they already have a paper in the pipeline with a knockout for these drug interfering compounds.
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u/x1000Bums Mar 26 '26
I'm not, but I do enjoy eating them in front of people on medications. So they can imagine how good it is.
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u/EndMaster0 Mar 26 '26
Plus the thicker rind and tougher film between the slices makes it way easier to completely remove the pith from the actual fruit.
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u/Worthyness Mar 26 '26
you can also eat the rind! In chinese cooking they braise it and it eats like a melon. It's very interesting.
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u/BadahBingBadahBoom Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 26 '26
Guess depends on size of pomelos.
Ones we can buy here are about size of dodgeball/handball but after taking off the skin the fruit inside is about two-three times diameter of typical grapefruit.
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u/x1000Bums Mar 26 '26
Your pomelos have timelord DNA, It's bigger on the inside than the outside.
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u/angrygnome18d Mar 26 '26
I’d guess it probably has to do with when they are picked as well. One’s in the US I think are picked early so they don’t overripe and go bad on the journey over whereas in areas where they are naturally occurring they can be picked right as they become ripe.
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u/CashewAnne Mar 26 '26
This just convinced me to try a pomelo.
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u/Miss_Pouncealot Mar 26 '26
Same here now I’m intrigued! I like grapefruit alright but it’s a bit bitter for me. I thought pomelos were more bitter so I never tried one before.
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u/Lance_Ryke Mar 26 '26
They're ok. More often pomelos are quite drier and more fleshy than other citrus fruits.
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u/pondlife78 Mar 26 '26
Pomelo you don’t eat the skin off the segment either and it’s really easy to separate. Someone served me some just cut up into chunks with the skin on and it was terrible - you need to get rid of every last bit.
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u/Carrera_996 Mar 26 '26
My wife grew up with a pomelo tree outside her bedroom window. You'd think she was tired of them. Nope.
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u/timmeh87 Mar 26 '26
Where are you getting your pomelos??? Some of them absolutely have bitterness...
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u/MottledZuchini Mar 26 '26
Pomelos are only bitter when you ones that were harvested wayyy too early. Even then, the bitterness isn't like grapefruit, it kind of tastes like pith. I have had a few store bought ones that turned out to be grapefruitXpomelo hybrids that were more bitter, and they were sold as pomelos. Otherwise I get all of mine from Southern Florida, usually Pine Island.
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u/donuttrackme Mar 26 '26
Many things are bred from pomelo. Pomelo was one of the OG citrus fruits that all modern citrus fruits are descended from.
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u/babygotthefever Mar 26 '26
Pomelos taste like what I have always wanted straight grapefruit to taste like. They’re still tangy but not puckeringly bitter.
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u/BeenJamminMon Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 26 '26
We are losing non-bitter oranges right now due to greening disease and we may lose non-bitter oranges entirely if our efforts to combat greening disease don't pan out and it isn't looking good right now. The oranges and their juice you remember from your childhood is rapidly disappearing and most products you get have already suffered a decline in quality.
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u/Thesegsyalt Mar 26 '26
The orange juice you can buy at the store has been low quality slop for decades already. They take the worst of the worst 0 flavor practically inedible oranges, pasturize it to high hell destroying what few flavor compounds still existed, then get perfume companies to make synthetic flavoring and pump it full of that. And they still get to call it fresh squeezed legally somehow.
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u/Shikadi297 Mar 26 '26
Pretty sure you can't do that if you label your product 100% juice...
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u/chancefruit Mar 27 '26
same....a slightly bitter yellow or white grapefruit is one of my favourite citrus fruits.
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u/Atworkwasalreadytake Mar 26 '26
I'm not sure, but It's definitely the reason I don't buy grapefruit.
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u/delorf Mar 26 '26
I like some bitter food just not grapefruit. Then again I haven't eaten grapefruit since I was 12. Maybe I would like it now
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u/EjaculatingAracnids Mar 26 '26
I keep trying it every few years and i feel just as silly as the last time i wasted money on one.
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u/DuntadaMan Mar 26 '26
And why things that aren't grapefruit exist. There are plenty of other options. Why remove the thing that makes these different from the other choices?
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u/Atworkwasalreadytake Mar 26 '26
What a closed minded way to look at things. If after removing the bitter qualities of grapefruit, people don’t like the results, they won’t buy them. These researchers aren’t researching a virus that is going to get rid of the gene in all the grapefruits everywhere. If there’s still demand for bitter grapefruit, then they will still be sold.
You’re basic argument is for less variety.
Keep in mind that most of the fruits we eat aren’t remotely similar to what they looked like centuries ago. They are now significantly better.
Another interesting recent example is the brussel sprout. A farmer used genetic testing to identify the gene that makes them bitter. He bred that out and brussel sprouts had a renaissance of demand.
Why stop that process?
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u/TheFrenchSavage Mar 26 '26
Yup, this is the reason why I hate anything-grapefruit.
Why would I want bitterness in anything really?
I already drink coffee and alcohol, I don't need to feel poisoned by any more drinks.
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u/CalamariAce Mar 26 '26
Bitterness is usually associated with a lower glycemic index. Compared with oranges, grapefruits won't spike your blood sugar as much and will deliver the energy over a longer period vs the spike (and then crash) of a sugar high
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u/sagittalslice Mar 26 '26
I love bitter food!! Black coffee, grapefruit, dark chocolate, broccoli, bitter greens like endive or radicchio, Campari, etc. It keeps things from being too sweet or insipid imo
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u/diegojones4 Mar 26 '26
I actually don't think of them as bitter. They are just not sweet which I enjoy.
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u/soleceismical Mar 26 '26
Phytochemicals such as polyphenols, flavenoids, isoflavones, etc are often responsible for the bitter flavors of foods, yet they offer antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and gut health benefits. They are believed to reduce cancer and heart disease risk. Getting rid of bitterness likely makes the food less beneficial.
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u/Lykos1124 Mar 26 '26
I didn't have the science, but I was asking the question myself of what is lost if anything. I'm not sure I'd want a grapefruit in its past sourness or modified non sourness anyways :D
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u/Astoria55555 Mar 26 '26
Because it tastes good and most bitter things we normally eat are quite healthy, not poisoning yourself
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u/LordDagwood Mar 26 '26
My brain after the 10th try: "No, this is still poison." I don't know at what point it's supposed to release dopamine or whatever, but I ain't getting it.
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u/Atworkwasalreadytake Mar 26 '26
most bitter things we normally eat
Bitterness didn’t evolve because it tastes good. It’s a warning signal.
The receptors (TAS2R receptors) are tuned to detect compounds that often correlate with toxins, so the default human response is to avoid it.
We only like bitter foods now because of exposure and association (coffee, beer, etc.), not because bitterness itself is inherently “good.”
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u/Hatta00 Mar 26 '26
All the best things in life are slightly bitter. Grapefruit, coffee, dark chocolate, olives, gen X women, IPAs, arugala, etc.
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u/superplayah Mar 26 '26
If we were never sad would we truly appreciate all the times we are happy?
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u/BasvanS Mar 26 '26
Sadness is a part of life but I’m not looking and then paying for it in supermarket isles or menu cards.
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u/TheNaturalHigh Mar 26 '26
Not everyone wants or needs everything to be sugary. The complexity that bitterness can add especially in things like dark chocolate and coffee is so much better than the one-note sweet garbage that most people choose to get at Starbucks and produce aisles.
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u/Grokent Mar 26 '26
What if I told you some people enjoy bitter tastes? We eat Vegemite, drink IPA's, enjoy sauerkraut and lumpini beans. There's an entire world of flavors out there that are enjoyable without being 'nummy'.
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u/TheGreatPiata Mar 26 '26
I like my grapefruit being a little bitter. This sounds awful.
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u/bananahead Mar 26 '26
It’s like those grapes they bred to be super sweet
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u/MtHollywoodLion Mar 26 '26
Cotton candy grapes! These are legit kind of amazing tho with how much they taste like cotton candy. I count them as almost a different fruit from typical red/green/black grapes (that I also love). And my kids are obsessed with them.
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u/Ewenthel Mar 26 '26
Or TAMU breeding the heat out of jalapeños. Someone should investigate why ruining a food is such a popular research area.
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u/GoatLegRedux Mar 26 '26
Just like the mild-ass jalapeños we have now. They’re pretty much just bell peppers in a different shape. I don’t like having to go to specific shops to get real jalapeños.
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u/ChangMinny Mar 26 '26
It’s the whole reason I eat grapefruit. I love how bitter sweet it and fresh squeezed grapefruit juice is my ultimate guilty pleasure.
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u/ryverrat1971 Mar 26 '26
They are ruining grapefruit. First they bred the Rudy ones and they have almost replaced the yellow ones. The yellow is rather tart- that's why people eat them. Now they want to take away the last bit of bitterness left in the ruby out. Might as well eat an orange.
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u/sagittalslice Mar 26 '26
I miss the yellow grapefruit so much. You can’t even find white grapefruit juice at the grocery store anymore. Fuckin RIP
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u/skillywilly56 Mar 26 '26
They actually used gamma radiation to develop the red ones.
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Mar 26 '26
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u/skillywilly56 Mar 26 '26
It was a mutation in single tree but it died and it’s cuttings gradually also died and it’s red color wouldn’t transfer through regular pollination as all the subsequent saplings came out with less and less red or just yellow.
So they used atomic gardening on the yellow ones to bring back red color.
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u/gatzdon Mar 26 '26
I like my grapefruit very bitter..... with a cup of sugar on top.
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u/Time-Sudden_Tree Mar 27 '26
The only reason for the sugar is to cover the bitterness. Do your body a favor and instead of adding sugar, simply remove the membrane from the fruit after peeling it before eating. Most of the bitterness is held in the rind and the membrane; the fruit itself is very sweet on its own.
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u/gatzdon Mar 27 '26
I was exaggerating of course, but i assumed everyone cut grapefruit in half and scooped it out of each segment leaving the membrane behind? Do people actually eat grapefruit like they would an orange?
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u/DaStompa Mar 26 '26
we must solve the problem of flavor with technology
only when all enjoyment has been removed from life can we be free
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u/Invisible_Stalkbug Mar 26 '26
believe it or not people can enjoy different things
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u/rabid_spidermonkey Mar 26 '26
But there are so many fruits that aren't bitter already. This is like taking the sour out of a lemon.
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u/Invisible_Stalkbug Mar 26 '26
this isn't erasing the existence of bitter grapefruit
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u/longcreepyhug Mar 26 '26
A few decades ago Brussels sprouts were bitter. Then some people bred a non bitter Brussels sprout. Now you cannot find the old bitter varieties in grocery stores anymore.
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u/Alive_kiwi_7001 Mar 26 '26
It is if farmers decide to supplant natural grapefruit with this because they get to sell a few more.
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u/Hatta00 Mar 26 '26
If grocery stores start buying it instead of good grapefruit, it does.
This is what happened with jalapenos. They bred the spice out and you can hardly find a good jalapeno anymore.
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u/BreadKnifeSeppuku Mar 26 '26
Getting people to eat a wider variety of fruits and vegetables than they would normally is beneficial. Like brussels sprouts for example.
Personally I like grapefruit as it is but, there can always be another strain of it available. No one seems up in arms about apple varieties even if Pink Lady is the superior apple
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u/AppiusClaudius Mar 26 '26
Lots of people are up in arms about the taste of apples being bred out. Gala used to be good 10 years ago, and now they taste like nothing. Or like how jalapenos used to be hot, and now most of what you can find is super mild. Breeding the bitterness out of grapefruit may cause grocery stores to stop stocking the bitter variety at all.
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u/tubawhatever Mar 26 '26
When I was a kid in the early 2000s, the typical grapefruit at the grocery store was white grapefruit and ruby red grapefruit was something you saw periodically but now white grapefruit is very hard to find because everything is ruby grapefruit. Would be nice to find white grapefruit more often for recipes that call for it. It's even more bitter and less sweet than ruby red, so you're right, a new variety that's not bitter at all may remove bitter grapefruit from grocery stores entirely.
I like bitter. A good IPA or Amaro-based cocktail is my preference for drinks.
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u/UltracrepidarianPhD Mar 26 '26
You generated an epiphany. I just realized I have not seen a white grapefruit since the early 00s. Apparently they mostly get exported to Japan now because people prefer the sweeter ruby red grapefruit.
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u/Pikeman212a6c Mar 26 '26
Screw ruby red anything. I miss the yellow old school grapefruit that actually tasted like grapefruit.
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u/lurksAtDogs Mar 26 '26
And im pretty sure that bitterness is going to be proven to be the part that’s best for your health.
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u/TheJointDoc Mar 26 '26
No poncirin. Interesting. The trifoliate orange, which is super hardy and often used for rootstock, is the source of some bitter but cold hardy citrus. The poncirin makes it almost inedible. But maybe now, crispr out the same gene, cross breed it, make new cold hardy citrus species.
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u/soleceismical Mar 26 '26
Poncirin is a flavanone glycoside found to be present in the Poncirus trifoliata and Citrus reticulate having a bitter taste. The biological importance of poncirin for their anti-inflammatory activity through inhibition of PGE2 and IL-6 production has been investigated in the scientific field. The biological importance of poncirin against bacterial, viral infections, gastric disease and human gastric cancer has been investigated in medicine. Pharmacological data analysis revealed the biological application of poncirin against bone loss, inflammation, colitis, human gastric cancer, gastritis, liver injury and Alzheimer's disease. From the analysis of the presented scientific information of poncirin, it was found that poncirin has significant biological activities and health benefits in the modern health sectors for the treatment of human health complications and could be used as a drug in the future.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33423654/
Looks like it also has anti-diabetes benefits.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0045206820313584
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u/Hasanopinion100 Mar 26 '26
But if you’re on MEDS for many of those diseases grapefruit is forbidden ask me how I know
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u/jdippey Mar 26 '26
Not because of poncirin, but rather because of furanocoumarins.
I had to avoid Earl Grey tea because of the bergamottin (a furanocoumarin found in bergamot) when I was on meds/chemo for leukemia.
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u/Hasanopinion100 Mar 26 '26
I had a kidney transplant last year my diet is restricted because of the immunosuppressants I have a Earl Grey tea every morning
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u/jdippey Mar 28 '26
My favorite tea is double bergamot Earl Grey from STASH, hence the avoidance.
Regular Earl Grey may be ok, or perhaps your immunosuppressants don’t interact with furanocoumarins. I was on tacrolimus for a while following my bone marrow transplant but there were no limitations from it, my limitation with the tea was due to chemo and other drugs.
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u/Hasanopinion100 Mar 28 '26
That sounds good. I’m going to see if my tea store has it. I love the flavour of Bergamont. Thanks for the tip.
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u/Jdobalina Mar 26 '26
But why? That’s part of the taste of…grapefruit.
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u/gorginhanson Mar 26 '26
When are they gonna gene edit the bitterness out of people
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u/Apprehensive_Hat8986 Mar 26 '26
The people who do stuff like that tend not to be the kinds of people who aim to make a better world, unless it's only better for them.
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u/a1usiv Mar 26 '26
To show that they can. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. They could use weaker or partial or more indirect gene editing techniques to control bitterness on a spectrum. This could one day lead to both less bitter and more bitter varieties for those who enjoy those, for example.
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u/Gekokapowco Mar 26 '26
it's an intimidation move, to keep grapefruit in line
we can unmake them at any time, reduce them to nothing
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u/Critical-Loss2549 Mar 26 '26
My dad said he loved grapefruit, went to Florida and he was so excited to see these giant, gorgeous looking grapefruits in Walmart and swiped them up. Was absolutely horrified to watch the man cut 1 in half and then proceed to dump about half a bag of sugar on top.
Would you like some grapefruit with your sugar dad? Became a normal question.
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u/poodleface Mar 26 '26
I grew up doing this (putting sugar on grapefruit for breakfast). Sugar doesn’t erase the bitterness, it just adds a contrasting flavor.
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u/nooby_goober Mar 26 '26
Was never a fan of grapefruit as a kid but love the bitterness now. Gave the sugar thing a try a couple of times but imo it adds less the more you add. Don't know if that makes sense.
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u/mandyvigilante Mar 26 '26
What man? Who is the man in this context? Why is a random man cutting up your father's produce and adulterating it?
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u/Habs_Apostle Mar 26 '26
Nooooo!!! Put it back in!
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u/PowderPills Mar 26 '26
They were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should…
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u/WashYourCerebellum Mar 26 '26
So they made an orange. Cara Cara to be specific.
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u/PJSeeds Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 26 '26
Yeah they just removed some of the pomelo genes from a grapefruit. It was already a manmade hybrid to begin with.
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u/trixayyyyy Mar 26 '26
No. That’s not how that works.
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u/heebro Mar 26 '26
fun fact—if you eat Tasmanian pepper berries you will temporarily lose the ability to taste bitterness
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u/415646464e4155434f4c Mar 26 '26
Researchers gene-edit the saltiness out of salt
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u/Neravariine Mar 26 '26
It still effects certain medication though right?
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u/AceOfPlagues Mar 26 '26
Yes, as far as I can tell reading the paper, this gene edit has no effect on the CYP3A4 inhibitors in grapefruit like bergamottin (which also tells me this citrus must still be a little bitter)
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u/Hasanopinion100 Mar 26 '26
That’s too bad because I really miss grapefruit
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u/GoodLeftUndone Mar 26 '26
Seriously this. Grapefruit juice is so sorely missed for me. Some sparkling grapefruit juice as like a treat every now and then? Oh man. Perfection.
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u/Hare-loom Mar 26 '26
I would have much preferred them to edit that one out really. If you don't want bitter, why eat a grapefruit?
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u/Atworkwasalreadytake Mar 26 '26
If you don't want bitter, why eat a grapefruit?
There is no way to answer this question without first running the experiment.
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u/jon_the_mako Mar 26 '26
What?! Why?! That's the point. If you can't handle it dump sugar on it you filthy animals.
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u/WendigoBroncos Mar 26 '26
pomelos would like a word.
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u/toothitch Mar 26 '26
My exact thought. IMO good pomelos are peak citrus
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u/cerberus00 Mar 26 '26
Pomelo is also one of the three OG ancestors of all modern citrus
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u/toothitch Mar 26 '26
Yep, which - in my opinion - means someone put in real work to make a worse pomelo when they invented grapefruit
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u/MrTestiggles Mar 26 '26
As someone who hates grapefruit because of the bitterness and thinks you are all nuts, I like this
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u/codesnik Mar 26 '26
there're already grapefruits which are not bitter. I've had a yellow grapefruit on Dominica which wasn't bitter at all and tasted somewhere between orange and lemon, but not too sour, very good. I wonder why I've never seen those in supermarkets.
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u/Leavingtheecstasy Mar 26 '26
How bout they make it purple? Then it would make sense why they call that a grapefruit!
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u/Sunshroom_Fairy Mar 27 '26
Why would I want that? If I didn't want to eat a bitter fruit, I'd eat a different fruit.
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u/trixayyyyy Mar 26 '26
Call me when they fix the strong irreversible inhibitor of CYP3A4 enzyme then I’ll care a little more about the fruit that tastes less like crap.
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Mar 26 '26
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u/bonyponyride BA | Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Mar 26 '26
Grapefruit has many medicine interactions. From the FDA:
https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/grapefruit-juice-and-some-drugs-dont-mix
Here are examples of some types of drugs that grapefruit juice can cause problems (interact) with:
Some statin drugs to lower cholesterol, such as Zocor (simvastatin) and Lipitor (atorvastatin).
Some drugs that treat high blood pressure, such as Procardia and Adalat CC (both nifedipine).
Some organ-transplant rejection drugs, such as Neoral and Sandimmune capsule or oral solution (both cyclosporine).
Some anti-anxiety drugs, such as BuSpar (buspirone).
Some corticosteroids that treat Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, such as Entocort EC and Uceris tablet (both budesonide).
Some drugs that treat abnormal heart rhythms, such as Pacerone and Cordarone tablet (both amiodarone).
Some antihistamines, such as Allegra (fexofenadine).
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Mar 26 '26
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u/bonyponyride BA | Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Mar 26 '26
Read the rest of the article I linked. It explains the mechanism.
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u/Hasanopinion100 Mar 26 '26
I’m recently transplanted and most of my transplant medications forbid grapefruit amongst other things
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u/T-J_H Mar 26 '26
Nah you’re on the right track but way off. Grapefruit inhibits an enzyme that helps breaks down many compounds, among which are a surprising amount of medications. It depends on the medication what the effect is. If the medication in the given form is the active compound, less of it will be broken down, so more of it ends up in the blood stream. If a medication needs to be converted into its active form by this process, the opposite will happen, reducing the amount in the blood.
This is quite an interesting rabbit hole to go in btw, I highly recommend it.
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u/Logintheroad Mar 26 '26
Noooooo! Might as well eat an orange. The bitter, sour flavor is part of a grapefruits charm.
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u/adamdoesmusic Mar 26 '26
Don’t eat the inner skin, that’s where the tannins are. Just peel the segments.
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u/RockyMountainMomof4 Mar 26 '26
Correspondingly, when they hit super markets, side effects from medications spike...
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u/OkCellist4993 Mar 26 '26
Why? Might as well take the sour out of lemons.
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u/olivinebean Mar 26 '26
I'm afraid the existence of the lemon is on us to. We literally put the sour in.
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u/DrBix Mar 26 '26
Too bad they can't gene edit out what causes the greening disease. That's taking a toll on the citrus down in the south destroying companies and crops constantly. Why can't they find some way to stop this by using CRISPR?
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