Drug & supplement interaction

Asian Water Plantain + Interferon Alfa-2b

Interferon Alfa-2b brand names: Rebetron, Intron A, Viraferon.

No Known Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 13, 2026
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Asian Water Plantain and Interferon Alfa-2b 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

Asian Water Plantain and Interferon Alfa-2b

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 Interferon Alfa-2b and Asian Water Plantain 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.

Asian Water Plantain safety at a glance

Asian Water Planta... overall Use caution Human safety data are limited, and high or long-term use may stress the kidneys or liver.
Pregnancy Avoid Not enough safety information is available, so it is best avoided during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Avoid There is no reliable safety data, so avoid use while breastfeeding.

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

Still wondering about combining Interferon Alfa-2b and Asian Water Plantain? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Interferon Alfa-2b

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Interferon Alfa-2b is filed under 2 classifications — photosensitizing drugs, hepatotoxic drugs. Asian Water Plantain has documented interactions with 1 drug class — the most serious being nephrotoxic drugs (minor) — and none of Interferon Alfa-2b’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

Asian Water Plantain Does Interact With Other Medications

Asian Water Plantain has 355 minor known drug interactions in our database — Interferon Alfa-2b isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Minor 355 No known interaction 2,475 (incl. Interferon Alfa-2b)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Asian Water Plantain

Covers the 2,830 medications we’ve checked against Asian Water Plantain. Pick one to open its full report.

What to actually watch for

What Asian Water Plantain Itself Has Been Linked To

This is not an interaction — nothing below involves Interferon Alfa-2b. It is the side-effect record for Asian Water Plantain on its own, from the licensed Natural Medicines monograph. If something new turns up after you add Asian Water Plantain, this list is the first place to look. 2 entries are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Kidney problems / Liver problems Worth acting on Additional detail

    “There is limited information available about the potential adverse effects of Asian water plantain. Orally, it has been used as a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with apparent safety; there have been no reported adverse effects in most patients. However, one case of hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity has been reported with the use of a combination TCM product containing Asian water plantain.”

    Asian Water Plantain · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in drug-induced kidney damage.

    1 source cited
    1. 99434. Yuen MF, Tam S, Fung J, Wong DK, Wong BC, Lai CL. Traditional Chinese medicine causing hepatotoxicity in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection: a 1-year prospective study. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2006 Oct 15;24(8):1179-86. PubMed

    “One case report of drug-induced systemic toxicity, including hepatotoxicity, has occurred in a 59-year-old man with chronic hepatitis B who had taken six doses of a combination product containing Asian water plantain 3 weeks prior to admission. He presented with gum bleed and petechiae, and his admission lab values indicated fulminant liver failure.”

    Asian Water Plantain · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in hepatitis.

    1 source cited
    1. 99434. Yuen MF, Tam S, Fung J, Wong DK, Wong BC, Lai CL. Traditional Chinese medicine causing hepatotoxicity in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection: a 1-year prospective study. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2006 Oct 15;24(8):1179-86. PubMed
  • Bleeding or bruising Worth acting on Additional detail

    Recorded for Asian Water Plantain in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Kidney problems / Liver problems above.

Everything above comes from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record for Asian Water Plantain — expand a row for the licensed statement it rests on. We haven’t matched Interferon Alfa-2b to its FDA label in our system yet, so we can’t compare its own side-effect list here — the leaflet that comes with your prescription is the authoritative list for Interferon Alfa-2b.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Interferon Alfa-2b

This page covers Asian Water Plantain only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Interferon Alfa-2b page lists 57 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Beer (major), Siberian Cocklebur (major), Wine (major), Alfalfa (moderate) and Angelica Archangelica (moderate).

By severity: 3 major · 53 moderate · 1 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Interferon Alfa-2b page

“People taking interferon alfa-2b (Intron A, Rebetron) are usually treating hepatitis or a cancer, so the liver may already be under strain, and that is exactly where most of this list points. Of the 57 supplements on file, 38 can add to liver stress, and all three major-rated interactions sit in that group: Siberian cocklebur, which ha…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Interferon Alfa-2b interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Asian Water Plantain and Interferon Alfa-2b 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 Asian Water Plantain
Steady interest

#1,148 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Interferon Alfa-2b
Top half

#1,311 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.
  • Citation library: 103,510 references behind our interaction content, 65,311 of them resolved to verified PubMed/DOI sources. See every Asian Water Plantain reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Asian Water Plantain and Interferon Alfa-2b records this page draws on were last updated July 10, 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 Asian Water Plantain

What is Asian Water Plantain?

Asian Water Plantain
  • Promoting urination (diuretic)
  • Fluid retention and swelling
  • Urinary discomfort
  • Cholesterol and heart health support
  • Kidney and bladder support

Asian water plantain (Ze Xie) is a rhizome long used in traditional Chinese medicine, mainly as a diuretic and for fluid retention. Modern evidence is mostly limited to laboratory and animal studies, so its benefits in people are not well proven, and quality human safety data are lacking. Talk with a pharmacist or doctor before using it, and avoid it during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Alisma plantago-aquatica · Alismataceae · Dried rhizome (root-like stem), known as Rhizoma Alismatis or Ze Xie · Dried sliced rhizome, powders, decoctions (teas), capsules, and as part of multi-herb traditional Chinese medicine formulas

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

Asian Water Plantain: dosing

There is no well-established standardized dose for Asian water plantain as a supplement. In traditional Chinese medicine, the dried rhizome is typically used as part of a multi-herb formula prepared by a trained practitioner, not taken alone.If you use a commercial product, follow the directions on the label and do not exceed the recommended amount. Do not use it as a substitute for prescribed diuretics or other proven treatments.

From our Asian Water Plantain monograph — the full record covers uses, side effects and every documented interaction.

Read the full Asian Water Plantain monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Interferon Alfa-2b Injection

What Is Interferon Alfa-2b Injection Used For?

Brand names: Rebetron, Intron A, Viraferon

  • Interferon alfa-2b injection is used to treat a number of conditions.

  • Interferon alfa-2b injection is used

    • alone or in combination with ribavirin (Copegus, Rebetol, Ribasphere) to treat chronic (long-term) hepatitis C infection (swelling of the liver caused by a virus) in people who show signs of liver damage,

    • to treat chronic hepatitis B infection (swelling of the liver caused by a virus) in people who show signs of liver damage,

    • to treat hairy cell leukemia (a white blood cell cancer),

    • to treat genital warts,

    • to treat Kaposi's sarcoma (a type of cancer that causes abnormal tissue to grow on different parts of the body) related to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS),

    • to treat malignant melanoma (a cancer that begins in certain skin cells) in certain people who have had surgery to remove the cancer,

    • along with another medication to treat follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL; a slow-growing blood cancer).

  • Interferon alfa-2b is in a class of medications called immunomodulators. Interferon alfa-2b works to treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) by decreasing the amount virus in the body. Interferon alfa-2b may not cure hepatitis B or hepatitis C or prevent you from developing complications from these infections such as cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, liver failure, or liver cancer. It also may not prevent the spread of hepatitis B or C to other people. It is not known exactly how interferon alfa-2b works to treat cancer or genital warts.

See full Interferon Alfa-2b Injection drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Asian Water Plantain

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

0Major
0Moderate
355Minor
2,474No known interaction
355 Minor 2,474 No interaction
Minor

355 interactions

Showing 60 of 355 minor interactions — see all 355 on the Asian Water Plantain page.

No interaction 2,474 drugs checked — show the list

We also checked Asian Water Plantain against these medications and found no known interaction in our sources. Open any page to confirm.

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,474 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Asian Water Plantain list.

See the full Asian Water Plantain interactions page
See every supplement checked against Interferon Alfa-2b, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Asian Water Plantain References

The 1 references that drive our Asian Water Plantain monograph and interaction data, from the evidence-graded Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) database. Citations with a link open the study on PubMed or the publisher’s site.

  1. Yuen MF, Tam S, Fung J, Wong DK, Wong BC, Lai CL. Traditional Chinese medicine causing hepatotoxicity in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection: a 1-year prospective study. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2006 Oct 15;24(8):1179-86. PubMed

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 Asian Water Plantain and Interferon Alfa-2b Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Asian Water Plantain with Interferon Alfa-2b?
We do not list a known interaction between Asian Water Plantain and Interferon Alfa-2b. 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 Asian Water Plantain and Interferon Alfa-2b combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Interferon Alfa-2b is filed under 2 classifications, and Asian Water Plantain has documented interactions with 1 drug class — none of Interferon Alfa-2b'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 Asian Water Plantain interact with any other medications?
Yes. Asian Water Plantain has 355 documented drug interactions in our database — Interferon Alfa-2b 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 Interferon Alfa-2b interact with any supplements?
Yes. Interferon Alfa-2b has documented interactions with 57 supplements in our database — Asian Water Plantain is not one of them. The Interferon Alfa-2b interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

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

Where next

Keep Exploring

Asian Water Plantain monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Interferon Alfa-2b Injection drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Interferon Alfa-2b supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Interferon Alfa-2b, ranked by severity Supplement interaction checker Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z Every drug we’ve checked against herbs & supplements References The 1 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Interferon Alfa-2b and Asian Water Plantain?

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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.