2 replies to this topic

[bigmatt]

Hi, thanks for your time and for reading this.  I was just prescribed BusPIRone and Lithium carbonate and I take the supplements:  Bacopa, Turmeric/ginger and also Lions mane.  Does anyone here know if it's safe to continue these supplements or where I can find out?  I can't find any information online and the pharmacist said turmeric interacts with a lot of meds.  Please let me know any thoughts are appreciated.

[Kinesis]

Four words: Dose makes the poison. I wouldn’t be afraid to take bacopa. turmeric or hericium with meds per se, but would definitely be cautious on dosing. Turmeric is a mild MOA inhibitor, possibility the source of the concern the pharmacist expressed. Does that mean if you sprinkle some on your rice or chicken you’re courting a dangerous interaction? It’s nothing like taking a powerful pharmaceutical MOAI. On the other hand, swallowing a handful of concentrated curcumin extract caps equivalent to many grams of turmeric could be asking for trouble. Bacopa may affect serotonin levels.

If you’re taking whole herb products in recommended dosages you’re probably fine. To be on the safe side, it can’t hurt to try them out one at a time in the smallest dosage before going higher. If you’re taking concentrated extracts, check whether they’re known or suspected to materially affect neurotransmitters or metabolic enzymes that are known to be affected by or metabolize the prescriptions you’re taking. Be wary of duplicating or cumulative effects. Good resources for this purpose are Examine.com and Wikipedia.

[Hannes2]

Well, Curcumin has been clinically combined with SSRI, so it should not have any potent MAOI in therapeutic doses. Buspirone is safe with MAOI anyway.

 

The issue with Curcumin and Piperine seems to be inhibition of cytochrome P450 enzymes, which are also common in drug metabolism. Buspirone is metabolized by cytochrome P450 3A4, however according to this study "the impact of a single oral CUR dose on the pharmacokinetics of BUS in rats is limited, showing that CUR cannot function as an inhibitor for CYP3A-mediated drug metabolism in vivo".

Edited by Hannes2, 07 December 2017 - 06:06 PM.