Drug & supplement interaction

American Ivy + Carmustine

Carmustine brand names: Gliadel, BiCNU, Gliadel Wafer.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between American Ivy and Carmustine in our sources. Absence of a documented interaction is not the same as proven safety, and does not guarantee one does not exist. Do not start, stop, or change a medication or supplement based on this page; confirm with your pharmacist or doctor first.

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Interaction report

American Ivy and Carmustine

We checked these two against our interaction database. Here is what we found.

No Known Interaction Found

We did not find a documented interaction between Carmustine and American Ivy in our sources. This does not guarantee that the combination is completely free of risk — there is often limited research on supplements and herbal products, especially around drug interactions.

If you decide to take both, the practical routine is simple: add one new thing at a time and note the date you started it. If the combination is going to disagree with you, it usually shows in the first days to a couple of weeks — and a start date turns “I’ve been feeling off” into something a pharmacist can actually work with. Do not stop a prescribed medicine on your own.

Always talk with your pharmacist or doctor before making changes to your medications or supplements, particularly if you take several medications or have an ongoing health condition.

American Ivy safety at a glance

American Ivy overall Use caution Little safety data exists, and the berries are toxic, so use it cautiously and avoid eating any part of the plant.
Pregnancy Avoid There is not enough safety information, so it is best to avoid use during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Avoid Safety while breastfeeding is unknown, so avoiding it is the safer choice.

Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Still wondering about combining Carmustine and American Ivy? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Carmustine

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Carmustine is filed under 2 classifications — alkylating agents, oral drugs. American Ivy has documented interactions with 1 drug class — the most serious being thiazide diuretics (moderate) — and none of Carmustine’s classifications are among them.

Classification data comes from our licensed Natural Medicines dataset. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded there, so this describes how the check was run — it is not a safety guarantee.

Keep it in perspective

American Ivy Does Interact With Other Medications

American Ivy has 56 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Carmustine isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against American Ivy

Covers the 2,830 medications we’ve checked against American Ivy. Pick one to open its full report.

What to actually watch for

What Carmustine’s Own FDA Label Lists

This is not an interaction — none of it involves American Ivy. These are the most notable effects listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of Carmustine’s own FDA label, for the medication by itself. Knowing the drug’s own list makes it easier to work out the likely cause if something new turns up while you take both. 7 of them are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Blood clots Worth acting on
  • Seizures Worth acting on
  • Chest pain Worth acting on
  • Low mood Worth acting on
  • Raised blood pressure Worth acting on
  • Bleeding or bruising Worth acting on
  • A higher chance of infection Worth acting on
  • Back pain
  • Fever
  • Constipation

Showing the 10 most notable of 15 label-listed effects — ranked by how unusual each one is across medicines generally, with serious effects weighted up.

From the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Carmustine. Read the label on DailyMed › American Ivy’s licensed record lists no adverse effects our clinical vocabulary could match, so there is no American Ivy side to compare — that is a limit of the record, not a statement that American Ivy has no side effects.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Carmustine

This page covers American Ivy only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Carmustine page lists 24 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Acerola (moderate), Alpha-lipoic Acid (moderate), Coenzyme Q10 (moderate) and Coffee Charcoal (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 14 moderate · 9 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Carmustine page

“Activated charcoal is the entry to understand first. It holds the only major rating among the 24 ingredients on file for carmustine, and because it can trap drugs that recirculate through the gut, it may lower carmustine levels even when the chemotherapy arrives by IV or as an implanted Gliadel wafer.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Carmustine interaction page

How much people look this up

Where American Ivy and Carmustine Sit Against Everything Else

Out of every supplement and medication people look up on HelloPharmacist, here is where these two land this week — and which way each has been moving.

Supplement American Ivy
Steady interest

#988 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Carmustine
Top 25%

#643 of 2,830 medications looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Position among everything looked up on this site, not a measure of how commonly either one is used or how important it is. A supplement can climb this list because of a news story. It counts every request to the page, automated ones included, and nothing here identifies anyone.

Where does our data come from?
  • Source: the Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) clinical database — the evidence-graded professional reference for herb & supplement interactions. American Ivy is not yet covered by that licensed database, so its write-up cites publicly available medical sources directly (see the references below).
  • Citation library: 103,510 references behind our interaction content, 65,311 of them resolved to verified PubMed/DOI sources. See every American Ivy reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The American Ivy and Carmustine records this page draws on were last updated June 22, 2026.
  • What “no known interaction” means: no documented interaction in the sources above — not a guarantee of safety. Supplements are studied far less than prescription drugs, so we say exactly what the evidence supports, and nothing more.
Data structure & sourcing designed and verified by .
Supplement

About American Ivy

What is American Ivy?

American Ivy
  • Digestive upset
  • To stimulate sweating
  • Traditional tonic use
  • Skin and swelling complaints (topical folk use)

American Ivy (Virginia creeper) is mainly an ornamental climbing vine with a long history of folk use for digestion and sweating, but there is very little human evidence to support any health benefit. Its berries contain oxalic acid and are considered poisonous, and the plant can irritate the skin. Because safety data is limited, talk with your pharmacist or doctor before using it.

Parthenocissus quinquefolia · Vitaceae · Bark, leaves, and stems (berries are considered poisonous) · Dried bark, tinctures, teas; rarely sold as a standardized supplement

An interaction check asks whether these two react with each other — it does not ask whether American Ivy is a good idea for someone in your situation. Here is what our American Ivy record says about it on its own.

American Ivy: dosing

There is no established safe or effective dose for American Ivy. It is not a standardized supplement, so the strength of any product can vary a lot.If you choose to use a product that contains it, follow the directions on the label and do not exceed them. Never make a home preparation from the raw plant or its berries.

From our American Ivy monograph — the full record covers uses, side effects and every documented interaction.

Read the full American Ivy monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Carmustine

What Is Carmustine Used For?

Brand names: Gliadel, BiCNU, Gliadel Wafer

Carmustine injection is used as palliative therapy — either alone or combined with other chemotherapy drugs — for several brain tumors, including glioblastoma, brainstem glioma, medulloblastoma, astrocytoma, ependymoma, and metastatic brain tumors. It is also used for multiple myeloma (in combination with prednisone), and for relapsed or refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma and Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (in combination with other approved drugs).

Gliadel — a dissolving wafer form of carmustine placed directly into the brain during surgery — is specifically indicated for newly diagnosed high-grade glioma (as an addition to surgery and radiation) and for recurrent glioblastoma (as an addition to surgery).

Most-Reported Side Effects for Carmustine

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (0 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Febrile neutropenia 391 reports
Myelodysplastic syndrome 296 reports
Disease progression 292 reports
Thrombocytopenia 250 reports
Fever 238 reports
See full Carmustine drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & American Ivy

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against American Ivy — both the ones with a known interaction and the ones without. Select any drug for the full detail.

0Major
56Moderate
0Minor
2,773No known interaction
Moderate

56 interactions

No interaction 2,773 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

American Ivy References

The 1 sources that drive our American Ivy monograph — publicly available pages from reputable medical and government organizations. Every link was verified to work before publishing. American Ivy is not covered by the licensed Natural Medicines interaction database, so its page cites these public sources directly.

  1. Oxalates — MedlinePlus Source

Medication overviews come from MedlinePlus (NIH); supplement label data from the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database. Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking American Ivy and Carmustine Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take American Ivy with Carmustine?
We do not list a known interaction between American Ivy and Carmustine. That does not guarantee the combination is risk-free, so confirm with your pharmacist or doctor — especially if you take other medications or have a health condition.
How was the American Ivy and Carmustine combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Carmustine is filed under 2 classifications, and American Ivy has documented interactions with 1 drug class — none of Carmustine's classifications are among them. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded in our dataset, so this describes how the check was run rather than guaranteeing safety.
Does American Ivy interact with any other medications?
Yes. American Ivy has 56 documented drug interactions in our database — Carmustine is simply not one of them. If you take anything else, it is worth checking each one; they are all listed on this page.
Does Carmustine interact with any supplements?
Yes. Carmustine has documented interactions with 24 supplements in our database — American Ivy is not one of them. The Carmustine interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

Still Have a Question About Carmustine and American Ivy?

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This information is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or combining supplements and medications.