Fungi may Hold Key to Reducing Grapefruit Juice Interactions with Medications
Grapefruit juice has been found to contain furanocomarins (FCs) that interfere with the metabolism of certain medications used to treat a wide range of conditions such as allergies, abnormal heart rhythm, depression, hypertension, infections, heart disease, and high cholesterol.
Agricultural Research Service chemists Kyung Myung and colleagues have found that the fungus Aspergillus niger binds and breaks down the FCs in grapefruit juice. Research is now geared towards the identification of the enzymes in the fungus and to confirm findings that fungal proteins could be responsible for removing the FCs from the grapefruit.
For details, see the story at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091116.htm
This article is part of the Crop Biotech Update, a weekly summary of world developments in agri-biotech for developing countries, produced by the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology, International Service for the Aquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications SEAsiaCenter (ISAAA)
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