Pomegranate Drug Interactions

Combining pomegranates with certain medications may cause negative drug interactions. Pomegranates, for instance, can lower blood pressure, and if you combine them with a blood pressure medication, it may cause extremely low blood pressure. Also, pomegranate drug interactions may occur with arrhythmia medicines, tricyclic antidepressants, or statin cholesterol drugs. To avoid any problems, make sure to talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist before using pomegranates medicinally.

 

Can Pomegranates Cause Drug Interactions?

Pomegranate products can potentially interact with several medicines. Although an occasional consumption of pomegranate fruit or juice is probably not likely to lead to drug interactions, excessive consumption (either through fruit, juice, extracts, or supplements) may possibly result in drug interactions.
 
Combining pomegranates with high blood pressure medications could cause problems. Pomegranates may lower blood pressure, and combining them with a blood pressure medication could result in undesirably low blood pressure (hypotension).
 
There is also some evidence that pomegranates may inhibit some of the liver enzymes that break down many different medications. This could cause high levels of these medications to accumulate in the body, increasing the risk of side effects and toxicity. If you take any medication that has the potential to cause serious side effects (such as arrhythmia medications, tricyclic antidepressants, statin cholesterol drugs, or numerous other types of medications), it is a good idea to check with your healthcare provider before drastically increasing your pomegranate intake.
 
It is likely that not all pomegranate drug interactions are known at this time. Therefore, you should talk with your pharmacist or healthcare provider about the pomegranate interactions that may apply to you.
 
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;