Does black licorice increase or decrease INR?

[iwantsimple]

I have searched all over the web, and very reputable sites contradict each other. Some say it raises INR, while others say it lowers INR.

[daisyd]

Hi there are some very good lists on the Internet. I had one which told me which foods contain low, medium and high foods with Vitamin K.

Can't find it this morning typical . Will have a look later,

You could also sent a email to the company who makes them and ask, you never know you might get a free bag or two.

[DgDpac in reply to daisyd]

It's not a vitamin k issue, but a metabolism issue. The licorice causes the warfarin metabolism to go up, thus dropping the inr. I have seen articles which contradict this, but they are incorrect. One said the hematocrit was low and they had black stools. In this case, the licorice had nothing to do with the bleeding, low hematocrit or the high inr. The problem was that the patient had a GI bleed, this used up the clotting factors and the INR went up. Licorice was a decoy or red herring if you will, that led them to a wrong conclusion.

[Hidden]

Thank you APsnotFab for that information. I will remember to avoid that.

kerstin

[MaryF Administrator]

Great article - very useful: Mary F x

[Susiec]

I appreciate this information, I enjoy black licorice from time to time...

[DgDpac]

I was looking this up to see what was being said because I have seen in numerous patients the INR drop suddenly, only by digging was it discovered that they had gotten a package of licorice and we're eating it. The truth is, it will drop your INR in very short order. This is because licorice will cause the warfarin to metabolize more quickly. If you are on warfarin, avoid licorice altogether

[DgDpac]

It's not a vitamin k issue, but a metabolism issue. The licorice causes the warfarin metabolism to go up, thus dropping the inr. I have seen articles which contradict this, but they are incorrect. One said the hematocrit was low and they had black stools. In this case, the licorice had nothing to do with the bleeding, low hematocrit or the high inr. The problem was that the patient had a GI bleed, this used up the clotting factors and the INR went up. Licorice was a decoy or red herring if you will, that led them to a wrong conclusion.

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