Feverfew Drug Interactions

If blood thinners, such as antiplatelet medications or anticoagulants, are taken with feverfew, drug interactions could occur. Early research also suggests that feverfew may inhibit several different liver enzymes, which can cause other medicines to build up to dangerous levels in the blood. It is important to know that there may be other feverfew drug interactions that are not known at this time.

Feverfew Drug Interactions: An Overview

Feverfew is an herb that is often used to prevent migraines, although people use it for other conditions as well. Very little information is available about drug interactions with feverfew. It is thought that the supplement may interfere with "blood thinners," including anticoagulants (such as warfarin, Coumadin®, or Jantoven®) and antiplatelet medications, including aspirin. Theoretically, feverfew may increase the risk of bleeding, although this has not yet been shown to be true in humans.
 
Early research suggests that feverfew may inhibit several different liver enzymes. These enzymes are responsible for breaking down many different medications. If feverfew inhibits these enzymes, high levels of other medications may build up to a dangerous level. However, since so little information is available, it is not known exactly how to handle these drug interactions. If you take any other medication, check with your healthcare provider before taking feverfew. This is especially important for life-saving medications (such as HIV medications), medications with dangerous side effects (such as arrhythmia medications), or those for which effectiveness is very important (such as birth control pills).
 

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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;
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