ABSTRACT
Alternative medicine therapies have become increasingly popular, and it has been estimated that one third of all Americans use herbal products. In 1997, herbal medicine sales increased nearly 59%, reaching an estimated total of $3.24 billion (see Heck et al., 2000). One particular safety concern is potential interactions of alternative medicine products with prescription medications. This issue is especially important with respect to drugs with narrow therapeutic indexes, such as warfarin. More food and drug interactions have been reported for warfarin than for any other prescription medication. Multiple pathways exist for interference with warfarin, and interactions may lead to either hemorrhage or thrombotic episodes by increasing or reducing the effect of this agent. Therefore, close monitoring of therapy and knowledge of potential interactions of herbs with warfarin are extremely important.
