Grapefruit May Curb Hepatitis C

Miranda Hitti

May 1, 2008 — Grapefruits may inspire a new treatment for hepatitis C,
a leading cause of liver disease.

Preliminary lab tests show that naringenin, a compound found in
grapefruit and other citrus fruits, may curb the spread of the
hepatitis C virus by 80%.That might give healthy cells a chance to
regenerate and stem the tide of hepatitis C's spread.

So say researchers including Yaakov Nahmias, PhD, of Harvard Medical
School. They note that there is a "pressing need" for new treatments
for hepatitis C infection because current treatments don't always work
and can have side effects.

Nahmias and colleagues knew that naringenin counters very low density
lipoprotein cholesterol (vLDL, a form of "bad" cholesterol), and they
suspected that the hepatitis C virus may "hitch a ride" on
cholesterol.

That theory held up in test tube experiments. Naringenin curbed vLDL
cholesterol, which made it harder for the hepatitis C virus to spread.

But you might not be able to eat enough grapefruit to get that
benefit.

The gut doesn't absorb naringenin very well, so a naringenin drug,
delivered intravenously, would be a more likely treatment, the
researchers conclude. In further lab tests on mice, naringenin wasn't
fatal and didn't raise liver enzyme levels, so an intravenous
treatment might be a possibility, the researchers report in May's
edition of Hepatology. But it will take more work to develop a
naringenin drug for hepatitis C.

Grapefruit may affect certain types of medications, so a grapefruit-
based approach might not be right for all patients.

SOURCES: Nahmias, Y. Hepatology, May 2008; vol 47: pp 1437-1445; News
release, John Wiley & Sons Inc; WebMD Medical Reference from
Healthwise: "Grapefruit Juice and Medication -- Overview."

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