Food-Drug Interactions - A Short Review of the Particularities of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics Molecular Stage Correlations

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to revise the main types of food and orally administered drugs. Food-drug interactions are biunivocal, meaning that food influences pharmacokinetics and that certain pharmacodynamic actions of drugs and the drugs themselves both directly (by interactions) and indirectly (by modifying food behaviour) influence the ingested quantity and the food profile. The medical term for interaction describes situations where food accelerates, delays or prevents the absorption of a drug; where food modifies the distribution of a drug within tissue or interferes with metabolization, transport and removal of substances from the organism; where food blocks drugs’ effects by modifying the pharmacodynamic actions; where food intensifies or inhibits the secondary or natural effects of certain drugs; and where drugs modify the taste of or appetite for certain aliments. Some foods and drugs might have similar chemical structures which, when consumed simultaneously, cause confusion within the body and determine the absorption of one at the expense of the other.Conclusions: Pharmacokinetic interactions are the most frequent and, in most cases, the most difficult to predict. Anticipation of the potential for decreased or increased effects of particular drugs due to their associations with certain food classes will lead to better monitoring of the anticipated clinical effects.