Tables Herbs Interacting with Drugs

Flupenthixol and procyclidine Rigidity, bradykinesia, jaw tremor Betel contains arecoline, a cholinergic 

Prednisone and salbutamol Inadequate control of asthma Arecoline challenge causes dose-related 

Chili pepper (Capsicum spp.) ACE inhibitor Cough Capsaicin depletes substance P 

Theophylline Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) Increased absorption and bioavailability  

Warfarin Increased INR, prolonged PT/PTT Danshen decreases elimination of warfarin 

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TABLE 4.1 (CONTINUED) Herbs Interacting with Drugs... 

Many dozens of herbal supplements are available to be purchased over-the-counter. Discussion of all these herbal supplements is beyond the scope of this article. Listed below is a brief discussion of each of the more commonly available and used supplements, including highlights of known active constituents, pharmacology, dosing, supporting clinical literature, adverse effects, and interactions with conventional medications. The known and potential drug-herb interactions are summarized in Table... 

Herbal drugs have many unknown and undocumented risks, side effects, and drug interactions. Like contemporary, rigorously tested pharmaceuticals, herbal medicines have some risk associated with their consumption. The fact that a plant is completely natural does not necessarily make that plant entirely risk-free. Several plants, when consumed in their most natural form, can cause grave illness or even death to humans and animals. A partial list of some of these natural herbal agents with the potential to harm is listed in Table 2. Herbalists, scientists, and the general public routinely avoid many of the plants listed in Table 2 because of their impending risks. However, hundreds of additional herbs and alternative medicines... 

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