Posted by Patient on January 17, 2004, at 19:37:20
In reply to Re: Grapefruit interactions-trazodone and citalopram » Patient, posted by PoohBear on January 15, 2004, at 13:22:12
Hello,
And I'm so glad you asked this question!
You caused me some concern with your question, because I didn't know the answer, and I too drink Earl Grey tea. My husband and I drink all sorts and varieties of hot teas, but lately we have been drinking Earl Grey since we are low on stores of teas, and I have yet to reorder more-lately I've been craving Yunnan, Hyson, Keemun, and Oolong.
Anyway,
Until now, I thought that Earl Grey tea got it's unique flavouring from the herbal mint plant known botanically as monarda (several varieties), commonly known as Begamot, as well as Bee Balm, Oswego Tea, and Horsemint. Now I know it comes from the essential oils of the Bergamot orange. You can read more about Earl Grey's ingredients here:
http://store.yahoo.com/englishteastore/earlgreytea.html
This site
http://www.safer-world.org/e/chem/limones.htm
lists some of the chemicals in citrus bergamia (Bergamot orange): "It contains 35-45% L-linalyl acetate, about 6% linalool, D-limonene, DL-limonene, bergaptene". I don't know if it contains bergamottin (6, 7,-dihydroxybergamottin (DHB), a furanocoumarin, which is sold by some body building sources as an anabolic/hormone enhancer.I'd be on the cautious side since the root word "bergamot" is found in this compound's name, and both are citrus fruits, though one is an oil extraction, the other from the juice. So far, I haven't noticed any reaction like I had a few days ago with that half of grapefruit I ate. I may experiment again and see if the same experience happens, just so I know it wasn't from some other cause. I just know that after taking trazodone to help calm my nervousness, that it didn't do anything--very unusual--for I always feel a "drugged" effect within an hour or less after taking Desyrel (traz.). I've had Earl Grey tea every day for the past week and no nervousness or tachychardia (fast heart rate) from it.
Technical reading about this compound is found here:
http://216.239.37.104/search?q=cache:wIduc8cSNVgJ:www.techtransfer.wayne.edu/96-387NPD2.doc+bergamottin++%22description%22+-buy&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
poster:Patient
thread:300793
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040114/msgs/302120.html