Information from Reuters News Service
One of the most commonly used herbal remedies, St. John's wort, substantially reduces blood levels of the HIV-fighting drug indinavir, and may cause treatment failure in some HIV-infected patients.
Although St. John's wort is marketed as a treatment for mild depression, little is known about its potential drug interactions. Past studies had suggested that St. John's wort and protease inhibitors-a particularly effective class of HIV-fighting drugs-share the same metabolic pathway in the body.
To further investigate, researchers at the National Institutes of Health gave St. John's wort and indinavir alone and together to eight healthy, HIV-free volunteers.
The investigators found that St. John's wort substantially reduced blood levels of the protease inhibitor. After taking St. John's wort, the level of indinavir dropped by an average of nearly 60 percent compared with the level seen without the herbal remedy.
Almost all important HIV drug combinations contain at least one medication that is metabolized through the same pathway used by the herbal remedy. Therefore, St. John's wort should be avoided by patients taking these drugs.
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