Is Welchol Safe To Take With Pomegranate Extract?

Answer

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Although there is little evidence available to draw on regarding a specific interaction between pomegranate and Welchol, based on what is known about both, a clinically significant interaction appears to be very unlikely.

However, they should not be taken at the same time as Welchol can decrease the absorption of other drugs.

Pomegranate Does Have Potential Drug Interactions

Pomegranate certainly does have the potential to interact with a number of medications as preliminary studies show that it may affect, at least to a minor degree, several metabolizing enzymes located in the liver (e.g., CYP3A4, CYP2D6, etc...). We have these all documented in our herbal interaction checker.

The evidence is quite conflicting, however.

For example, some studies have shown that pomegranate juice can inhibit the CYP3A4 enzyme in the laboratory, similar to how grapefruit juice does. However, most studies of humans have shown no significant effect on drugs that are broken down by this enzyme.

Overall, it appears that pomegranate is unlikely to significantly affect how this enzyme works in humans but is important to be aware of.

Welchol Isn't Metabolized Or Absorbed

Welchol (colesevelam) is an interesting drug because, for the most part, it is not absorbed systemically (i.e., into the bloodstream) and doesn't undergo any significant metabolism. It essentially just goes right through you.

Due to this, it isn't known to affect how most drugs/supplements work.

However, and this is an important point, if Welchol is administered at the same time as other drugs, it can significantly delay their absorption.

For this reason, it is generally recommended to take medications either at least 1 hour before Welchol or 4 hours after, to avoid changes to absorption.

Final Words

So, as mentioned, there is no known clinically significant interaction between pomegranate and Welchol but Welchol administration should be separated from it to avoid absorption issues.

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