Grapefruit seed extract may fight off a bladder infection. This has nothing to do with properties in grapefruit and everything to do with added chemicals that many grapefruit seed extract products contain. Grapefruit on its own is not known to have any effect on treating a bladder infection.
Treatment
Bladder infections, classified as urinary tract infections, are typically treated with antibiotics. Bladder infecctions affect your bladder and urethra. Eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice will not help. If a grapefruit seed extract product contains chemicals, it may work to fight your bladder infection as well as other infections caused by bacteria, yeast, viruses and fungus. But it makes to seek to seek medical treatment rather than self-medicate with grapefruit seed extract. Untreated bladder infections can spread to your kidneys, potentially causing a life-threatening kidney infection.
Chemicals
Grapefruit and pure grapefruit seed extract -- the pulp and seeds of a juiced grapefruit -- will not treat a bladder infection, according to bio-ethicist and herbal researcher Donal O'Mathuna. He analyzed the results of grapefruit seed extract studies published between 1999 and 2009 in Japan, Sweden, Austria, Germany and the United States. O'Mathuna found that many grapefruit seed extract products contain added disinfectants and synthetic preservatives, such as the class 2 poison benzethonium chloride, according to the article he wrote for "The Irish Times." Chemicals in some grapefruit seed extract, not the grapefruit itself, fights infections.
Study
A German Institute of Pharmacy study was the first published research to find that properties in grapefruit do not fight off bladder infections -- or any kind of infection. The study, led by T. von Woedtke and published in "Pharmazie" in June 1999, tested six commercially sold grapefruit seed extract products. Five contained synthetic preservatives and disinfectants demonstrated antimicrobial abilities. One contained pure grapefruit seed extract and didn't fight infections. Woedtke's research team also made and tested their own pure grapefruit seed extract. it did not kill any kind of infection.
Side Effects and Drug Interactions
Do not take grapefruit seed extract for a bladder infection if you are taking birth control pills, statins, antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications or calcium channel blockers. Grapefruit prevents your CYP34A enzyme from metabolizing drugs, elevating them in your bloodstream and causing potentially deleterious side effects. Many other drugs may interact with grapefruit. Ask your doctor about possible interactions before taking grapefruit or grapefruit seed extract with any medication. Additionally, the benzethonium chloride found in many grapefruit seed extract products can cause you to fall into a coma, as well as convulse or collapse.
References
- "The Irish Times"; Peel Back the Hype; Donal O'Mathuna; March 24 2009
- MayoClinic.com: Urinary Tract Infection; June 26 2010
- Denver Naturopathic; Why We Don't Sell Grapefruit Seed Extract; July 21, 2005
- "Pharmazie"; Aspects of the Antimicrobial Efficacy of Grapefruit Seed Extract and its Relation to Preservative Substances Contained; T. von Woedtke et al; June 1999
- The Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide: Grapefruit and Medication: A Cautionary Note; Feb. 2006
- "The New York Times"; Experts Reveal the Secret Powers of Grapefruit Juice; Nicholas Bakalar; March 21 2006
