Cholesterol - Downside to Gugulipid

[Guest guest]

Downside to Cholesterol-Cutting Herbal Drug

 

Gugulipid Appears to Break Down Effect of Some Prescription Drugs

 

By Miranda Hitti

WebMD Medical News

Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD on Friday, September 24, 2004

 

Sept. 24, 2004 -- Gugulipid has been shown to lower cholesterol but now

appears to have some unwanted side effects. Researchers say the

over-the-counter herbal drug can break down prescription drugs, such as

those used to fight AIDS and cancer.

 

As a result, researcher Jeff Staudinger, PhD, of the pharmacology and

toxicology department at the University of Kansas, and colleagues say

people taking prescription medications should use caution when taking

gugulipid.

 

The extracts are steroid-like compounds derived from the myrrh tree.

Gugulipid has been used in traditional Indian medicine, called Ayurveda,

for nearly 3,000 years. These supplements have been shown to lower

cholesterol, stimulate the thyroid, and work as a blood thinner.

 

But gugulipid apparently doesn't interact well with some modern-day

prescription drugs.

 

Side Effects

 

Staudinger's team performed lab experiments with gugulipid bought at a

local health food store, as well as a pure version of the herbal drug's

active ingredient, guggulsterone.

 

They tested guggulsterone's effects on cell receptors taken from mouse

and human liver cells.

 

The researchers already knew that guggulsterone decreases activity at a

cell receptor called FXR, which triggers a cholesterol-lowering process.

 

Guggulsterone also affects other cell receptors, Staudinger's team learned.

 

They found that guggulsterone stimulates a cell's drug metabolism

machinery -- enzymes that break down prescription medicines. This action

of the herbal supplement would affect medications such as the AIDS drug

AZT, anticancer agents, and cholesterol-lowering statins, according to a

news release.

 

In addition, guggulsterone stimulates two other cell receptors: one for

the hormone estrogen and another for the hormone progesterone, according

to the researchers.

 

Gugulipid is not the only herbal drug that can interfere with

prescription medications.

 

For instance, the active ingredient in St. John's Wort, hyperforin, has

also been shown to activate this system and cause an herb-drug interaction.

 

Because herbal and prescription drugs can interact in ways consumers

don't expect, it's best to let your health care provider know about any

supplements you're taking.

 

The study recently appeared in The Journal of Pharmacology and

Experimental Therapeutics.

 

SOURCES: Staudinger, J. The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental

Therapeutics, August 2004; vol 310: pp 528-535. News release, University

of Kansas.

[Guest guest]

Thanks Butch, I am filing that one.

 

Though I find myself cheering loudly for Gugulipid!

It seems it is helping the body to handle some

nefarious substances, whose side effects are

considerable and whose benefits questionable.

 

 

Quote:They found that guggulsterone stimulates a cell's drug metabolism

machinery -- enzymes that break down prescription medicines. This action of the

herbal supplement would affect medications such as the AIDS drug AZT, anticancer

agents, and cholesterol-lowering statins, according to a news release.

 

 

Ien in the Kootenays, getting more radical by the day

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who is this Kootenay person anyway?

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