EurekAlert! -- SALT LAKE CITY, March 24, 2009 — Chemists in Taiwan are reporting that an ingredient in licorice — widely used in various foods and herbal medicines — appears to block the absorption of cyclosporine, a drug used by transplant patients to prevent organ rejection. This drug interaction could potentially result in transplant rejection, causing illness and even death among patients worldwide who take cyclosporine and licorice together, the researchers caution.
