1. Nifedipine was administered to eight volunteers (seven Caucasian, one East Asian of Chinese origin) as a single 10 mg capsule orally and as 2.5 mg intravenously. The pharmacokinetics were determined under fasting conditions and following 200 ml double strength grapefruit juice taken orally both 2 h before and at the time of dosing. 2. In a separate study, the pharmacokinetics of nifedipine were defined in eight South Asian volunteers (with both parents originating from the Indian subcontinent) following 10 mg nifedipine orally and 2.5 mg intravenously. 3. The administration of grapefruit juice did not alter the pharmacokinetics of intravenous nifedipine, but resulted in a significantly increased area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) (191 +/- 59 c.f. 301 +/- 95 ng ml-1 h, P < 0.05) and bioavailability (0.63 +/- 0.18 c.f. 0.86 +/- 0.15, P < 0.05) following oral nifedipine. The elimination half-life was unchanged by administration of grapefruit juice and there was no evidence of decreased formation of the nitropyridine first-pass metabolite. 4. The AUC of nifedipine after intravenous administration was significantly higher in South Asian subjects than in Caucasians (146 +/- 39 c.f. 74 +/- 18 ng ml-1 h, P < 0.002). This was due to a lower systemic clearance in the South Asians which was 50% of that in the Caucasians. The half-life was markedly prolonged in South Asians (4.1 +/- 1.9 c.f. 1.7 +/- 0.5 h, P < 0.002).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)