The short answer
Grapefruit juice can increase sertraline exposure. Official UK tablet guidance advises avoiding the juice during treatment; other grapefruit preparations need separate assessment.
What this answer covers
Citrus paradisi inventory mapped only conditionally to studied grapefruit juice; isolated extracts, rind and flesh are not established equivalents.
- Supplement or preparation
- Citrus paradisi
- Medication ingredient
- sertraline
A controlled study measured higher exposure
Repeated grapefruit juice increased peak and total sertraline concentrations in eight healthy volunteers given a single sertraline dose. This measured blood exposure, not a clinical toxicity rate.
A small patient study points the same way
Five patients taking regular sertraline had higher average trough concentrations after a week of juice. The study was too small to determine the clinical significance reliably.
Follow the preparation-specific guidance
The UK sertraline tablet label advises avoiding grapefruit juice. It does not show that every grapefruit extract has the same effect or establish a safe amount.
Do not solve this by adjusting the prescription
Ask the pharmacist about your exact grapefruit product. Do not reduce sertraline or rely on a few hours between doses; these sources provide no validated protective gap.
Evidence and practical considerations
Absorption & effectiveness
Conditional support for increased oral sertraline exposure with repeated grapefruit juice, not every grapefruit preparation or proven toxicity.
- Exact scope
- Citrus paradisi inventory mapped only conditionally to studied grapefruit juice; isolated extracts, rind and flesh are not established equivalents. with Exact oral sertraline hydrochloride tablets. RxNorm IN36437 / PIN155137 hydrochloride tablets. Oral concentrate and its specific diluent instructions are distinct.
- Medication form and route
- oral
- Timing or duration
- Source-specific single-dose, repeated-dose and observational exposures distinguished.
What remains uncertain
- Small studies, juice-specific exposure, no universal effect size or protective spacing.
Factors that may matter: preparation and plant part; clinical indication; dose; other medicines; baseline alertness.
Read the supporting source summaries
Source 1: current product label
dailymed.nlm.nih.gov · Source check Sep 10, 2026
Population: People prescribed oral sertraline.
Label names tryptophan and St John’s wort in serotonin warnings and describes bleeding precautions. Tablet scope; grapefruit juice data do not automatically establish flesh equivalence.
How this applies: RxNorm IN36437 / PIN155137 hydrochloride tablets. Oral concentrate and its specific diluent instructions are distinct.
No universal supplement interval, event rate or preparation equivalence established.
Source 2: original human study
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · Source check Sep 10, 2026
Population: Eight healthy volunteers in crossover study.
Mean peak concentration and total sertraline exposure increased with juice.
How this applies: Only the named drug, preparation, route and measured endpoints apply.
Small high-juice-intake study with a single sertraline dose, not a toxicity trial. No grapefruit flesh or isolated supplement extract.
Source 3: original human study
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · Source check Sep 10, 2026
Population: Five patients with depression taking stable sertraline for at least six weeks.
Mean trough sertraline concentration increased from 13.7 to 20.2 micrograms/L.
How this applies: Only the named drug, preparation, route and measured endpoints apply.
Small uncontrolled patient study; clinical importance and toxicity not established. Juice is not whole grapefruit flesh.
Source 4: official product label
medicines.org.uk · Source check Sep 10, 2026
Population: People prescribed sertraline hydrochloride tablets.
Advises avoiding grapefruit juice during sertraline treatment, citing healthy-volunteer pharmacokinetic results.
How this applies: Exact ingredient and oral tablet route; evidence and avoidance instruction specifically concern juice.
Does not quantify fruit-flesh exposure or supply a protective dose gap. This is a UK tablet label, not an oral-concentrate dilution instruction.
Research assessment: · Open full citations ↗
Review and change history
- Publication status
- Published research summary
- Clinical review
- Not yet recorded
| Date | Update |
|---|---|
| Article prepared | |
| Current exact available claims adjudicated using original captures and explicit identity and comparator limits. | |
| Research summary published |
Article revision: f0f428a56989f6b3
This guide brings together the evidence records used by our interaction checker. Each finding retains its own preparation limits, research date, and source summaries.
Full citations require verification. Reading this answer and the source summaries does not.
Taking other supplements or medications?
Use the checker to explore your other combinations. Ask a pharmacist to review the exact products, amounts and medical conditions in your complete list.
Open the interaction checkerInformation, not medical advice. Do not change prescribed treatment based on this guide.