Mangosteen
And Coumadin
Are There Any Side Effects With Blood
Thinners?
What
is
Coumadin?
Warfarin, sold in the
drugstores under the
brand name Coumadin, is a prescription drug
that prevents the formation
of blood clots, which belong to a class
otherwise known as blood
thinners.
How Are Blood Clots Formed?
A
process known as hemostasis prevents or stops
blood loss from an
injured blood vessel. There are four steps
involved in this process.
- Constriction of
blood vessels : special
cells known as endothelial cells stick to
one another (like a stack of
coins) at the site of injury initially
stopping bleeding
- Platelet plug
formation: special
cells known as platelets replace the
endothelial cells to form another
plug to stop the bleeding which occurs
just seconds after the injury.
- Fibrin formation:
fibrin clot is
created
- Fibrinolysis:
breakdown of the
fibrin clot and replaced by a connective
tissue as the injured vessel
wall is healed. Some of these blood clots
may travel into the blood
stream, form a blockage which subsequently
reduces blood flow resulting
in conditions like cerebral embolism
(block in vessels leading to a
part of the brain).
The
liver produces
substances, known as clotting factors, which
are part of the clot
formation. To be able to produce these
clotting factors, vitamin K is
needed.
What About Vitamin K?
Vitamin K is one of the
fat-soluble vitamins,
absorbed in the small intestine and stored in
the liver, which is
important in controlling bleeding. It is a
component in the coagulation
process.
How Does Coumadin Prevent Formation Of
Blood Clots?
Coumadin blocks the
transformation of the
inactive form of vitamin K to its active form
causing disruption in the
steps for clot formation resulting in longer
time for the blood to clot.
What Are
The Beneficial
Effects Of Coumadin In The Body?
It slows down
clot formation and
prevents the recurrence of blockage in the
distant veins and in the
lungs. If there is an existing clot, it stops
it from growing larger.
In people with artificial heart valves and
those who had a heart
attack, it likewise prevents the formation of
blood clots.
What Are The Harmful Effects Of Coumadin
In The Body?
In pregnancy, it causes
spontaneous
abortion, stillbirth, neonatal death, preterm
birth, birth defects like
abnormal bone formation, and seizures.
Since it
stops the coagulation process, it can cause
excessive bleeding or
hemorrhage in the event of injuries or
surgery.
Within
the bones it causes osteoporosis or “brittle
bone. On the skin, it
creates dark red or black
lesions.
What
To Watch Out For?
1.
nosebleeding
2. dark
stools
3. dark
urine
4.
coughing
up or vomiting of blood
5.
joint
pains
6.
bruising
without any injury
7.
presence
of rashes on the skin
What
Are The
Drugs That Interact With
Coumadin?
Drugs that increase anticoagulant effect
and risk of bleeding
1. Aspirin
2. Metronidazole
3. Cephalosporins
4. Cimetidine
5. Miconazole
6. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole
7. Heparin
8. Amiodarone
9. Ibuprofen
(example. Advil)
Drugs that decrease anticoagulant effect
and risk of bleeding
1. Vitamin
K
2. Rifampin
3. Barbiturates
(example.
Phenobarbital)
4. Cholestyramine
Other
factors that
interact with Coumadin
1. Liver
disease
2. Hyperthyroidism
3. Hereditary
resistance
4. Intake
of foods like
cranberry juice, spinach, broccoli,
mangosteen
What About Mangosteen?
Mangosteen, a fruit native to
Southeast Asian
countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and
Philippines, is known for its
high medicinal value and antioxidant content.
What Are Antioxidants?
Antioxidants are molecules which can
safely interact with
free radicals and thus prevent body cell
damage. It is known
to help maintain the immune system which makes
our body fight diseases
like common colds caused by viruses. It also
acts as an
anti-inflammatory agent which helps alleviate
symptoms of arthritis.
Antioxidants
present
in Mangosteen are:
Xanthones:
known not only for is antioxidant
property but also for
its immune system booster and
anti-inflammatory properties. Helps heal
cells damaged by free radicals,
Catechins
Polyphenols:
fights
oxidative stress that causing both
neurodegenerative and cardiovascular
diseases.
Proanthocyanidins:
Strong
anti-oxidant
Sterols:
helps
in the reduction in the amount of blood
plasma cholesterol in the
body
Choosing
Mangosteen
Supplements
Between
the juice and pill form, the latter has far
more advantage in bringing
you the maximum health benefits. It contains
100% mangosteen, while the
juice form uses other fruit extracts to
improve its taste, and
preservatives to prolong its shelf life.
It leaves little
percentage of mangosteen in the bottle
supposedly marketed as
mangosteen juice.
The
manufacturing process of the juice form
involves processes such as
pasteurization
and
reconstitution which destroy the
natural medicinal properties
of mangosteen.
The
whole fruit is utilized in the manufacturing
of the juice. For the
whole fruit to be transported to the United
States for processing, it
is required by the law to undergo
irradiation to kill pests, bacteria
and viruses. The radiation effects to your
food may be passed on to
your body, putting you at risk for cancer.
The pill
form does not have to go through the same
harmful procedures. It uses
only the pericarp or rind of the mangosteen,
where
the xanthones are highly concentrated. After
being freeze-dried, it is
transported for processing without the need
for irradiation.
Mangosteen
and
Coumadin
Mangosteen
does not have vitamin K that may exert an
opposite effect against blood
thinners. In laboratory studies, mangosteen
was found to increase the
risk of bleeding.
Anti-inflammatory
drugs like Coumadin block blood clot
formation by preventing the
platelets to stick to one another. It stops
the production of
Thromboxane A2, a substance that makes the
platelets change shape and
stick to one another. Bleeding is therefore
prolonged.
This is
believed to be the mechanism of action of
mangosteen that reduces
clotting. It means that if a person is on
“blood thinners” like
Coumadin, should be educated and informed
that mangosteen may double
the effect of Coumadin.
In
the case of injury or the need for surgery,
it may be difficult to stop
bleeding if both mangosteen and coumadin are
taken, which may lead to
blood loss. However, there has been no
documented case to date, of
mangosteen causing problems on
patients taking Coumadin
despite what laboratory findings on animals
suggest.
If you are on any supplements, it would be
wise to inform
your physician what you are regularly taking,
so that he or she will be
informed of the possible interactions of the
drugs to be prescribed and
the supplements that you are religiously
taking. This will prevent any
complications in the future.