Plant Sterol Drug Interactions

Certain medications may cause plant sterol drug interactions, including ezetimibe products, beta-carotene, and vitamin E. Plant sterols can decrease the absorption of vitamin E and beta-carotene into the body, while ezetimibe may reduce the absorption of plant sterols into the bloodstream. To help prevent drug interactions with plant sterols, try to take plant sterol products and other medications at different times of the day.

 

An Introduction to Plant Sterol Drug Interactions

Even though they are "natural" food-based substances, plant sterols can potentially interact with a few medications. Some of the medications that may lead to plant sterol drug interactions include:
 

Plant Sterol Interactions Explained

The following sections explain in detail the potentially negative interactions that can occur when plant sterols are combined with any of the drugs listed above.
 
 
Beta-Carotene
Plant sterols may decrease the absorption of beta-carotene (both from food and from vitamins) into the body. To avoid this problem, it is a good idea to take plant sterols and beta-carotene at different times of the day.
 
Ezetimibe (Zetia) or Ezetimibe/Simvastatin (Vytorin)
Ezetimibe may decrease the absorption of plant sterols into the bloodstream. This is probably only a problem if you take plant sterols for something other than for high cholesterol (since plant sterols do not need to be absorbed in order to lower cholesterol).
 
Vitamin E
Plant sterols may decrease the absorption of vitamin E (both from food and from vitamins) into the body. It is probably a good idea to take plant sterols and vitamin E at different times of the day.
 
(Plant Sterol Drug Interactions Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;