Drug & supplement interaction

Bilberry + Methotrexate

Methotrexate brand names: Rheumatrex, Otrexup, Rasuvo, Reditrex.

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 Bilberry and Methotrexate 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. Additionally, although there is no interaction, the two are separately associated with some of the same side effects, which would make a new symptom harder to attribute to one or the other.

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Interaction report

Bilberry and Methotrexate

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 Methotrexate and Bilberry 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.

Bilberry safety at a glance

Bilberry overall Use caution Bilberry fruit is generally safe as food, but supplement evidence and long-term safety are limited.
Pregnancy Likely Safe When used orally in the amounts commonly found in foods. However, there is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of bilberry when used in... Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Likely Safe When used orally in the amounts commonly found in foods. However, there is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of bilberry when used in... Read the full breastfeeding detail

Pregnancy & breastfeeding ratings are from Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center) — the full detail is in the Special populations card below. Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Still wondering about combining Methotrexate and Bilberry? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Methotrexate

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Methotrexate is filed under 6 classifications — including organic anion-transporting polypeptide substrates (oatp), organic anion transporter 3 (oat3) substrates, hepatotoxic drugs. Bilberry has documented interactions with 4 drug classes — the most serious being anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs (moderate), antidiabetes drugs (moderate) and cytochrome p450 2e1 (cyp2e1) substrates (moderate) — and none of Methotrexate’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

Bilberry Does Interact With Other Medications

Bilberry has 275 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Methotrexate isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 275 No known interaction 2,555 (incl. Methotrexate)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Bilberry

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Bilberry and Methotrexate May Share Several of the Same Side Effects

This is not an interaction. Neither one changes how your body handles the other, and nothing here says they react together. What our sources do show is that each has separately been linked to the effects below — so taking both can make those effects more likely to turn up, and harder to pin on one or the other if they do.

  • Stomach upset Additional detail

    Bilberry

    “Orally, bilberry fruit, juice, and extracts seem to be well tolerated.

    Most Common Adverse Effects:

    Orally: Dark-colored stools, flatulence, and gastrointestinal discomfort.”

    Bilberry · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in flatulence.

    Methotrexate

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Methotrexate. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Nausea reported in 5.9% of FDA reports for Methotrexate Additional detail

    Bilberry

    “In one small clinical trial, mild-to-moderate flatulence was reported in 33% of patients taking sieved bilberries and concentrated bilberry juice. However, the patients in this study had ulcerative colitis, and the study lacked a control group, limiting the validity of this finding.”

    Bilberry · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in age-related cognitive decline.

    4 sources cited
    1. 91506. Biedermann L, Mwinyi J, Scharl M, Frei P, Zeitz J, Kullak-Ublick GA, et al. Bilberry ingestion improves disease activity in mild to moderate ulcerative colitis-an open pilot study. 2013 May;7(4):271-9. PubMed
    2. 110641. Bøhn SK, Myhrstad MCW, Thoresen M, et al. Bilberry/red grape juice decreases plasma biomarkers of inflammation and tissue damage in aged men with subjective memory impairment -a randomized clinical trial. BMC Nutr 2021;7(1):75. PubMed
    3. 35500. Morazzoni P and Magistretti MJ. Effects of Vaccinium myrtillus anthocyanosides on prostacyclin-like activity in rat arterial issue. Fitoterapia 1986;57:11-14.
    4. 35462. Hawrelak, J. A. and Myers, S. P. Effects of two natural medicine formulations on irritable bowel syndrome symptoms: a pilot study. J Altern Complement Med 2010;16(10):1065-1071. PubMed

    Methotrexate

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Methotrexate, and in voluntary FDA adverse-event reports. Read the label on DailyMed ›

Reported for Bilberry but not commonly for Methotrexate: memory problems, bloating or gas and heartburn.

Effects for Methotrexate come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Bilberry come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 489,806 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Methotrexate that mention that effect — a reporting proportion, not an incidence rate and not evidence the drug caused it. Wording is matched across sources by our own clinical vocabulary, so treat this as a prompt to pay attention, not a diagnosis.

Special populations

Bilberry in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy And Lactation Likely Safe

When used orally in the amounts commonly found in foods. However, there is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of bilberry when used in medicinal amounts during pregnancy and lactation; avoid using.

DISCLAIMER: This tool is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be interpreted as specific medical advice. Patients should consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about therapies and/or health conditions.© 2026 Therapeutic Research Center

From our Q&A

Questions About Bilberry or Methotrexate

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Bilberry or Methotrexate, not necessarily both, but if one is close to what you were about to ask it will usually go further than a database entry can:

Not quite your question? Ask our pharmacists directly — it is free, there is no account required, and answers usually come back within 24 hours.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Methotrexate

This page covers Bilberry only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Methotrexate page lists 82 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Apple (major), Beer (major), Grapefruit (major) and Siberian Cocklebur (major).

By severity: 7 major · 60 moderate · 15 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Methotrexate page

“The liver is where methotrexate and supplements clash most. Methotrexate (Rheumatrex, Otrexup, Rasuvo), used for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and certain cancers, can strain the liver on its own, and 38 of the 82 interacting ingredients on this list add liver risk of their own, alcohol included, which makes this a list to approach…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Methotrexate interaction page

One more smart check

Taking Bilberry as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 3,883 real supplement products containing Bilberry, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Bilberry. Even though Bilberry itself has no known interaction with Methotrexate, another ingredient on your label might. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Bilberry and Methotrexate 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 Bilberry
Top 10%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Methotrexate
Top 5%

#49 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 Bilberry reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Bilberry and Methotrexate 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 Bilberry

What is Bilberry?

Bilberry
  • Eye and vision health
  • Antioxidant support
  • Diarrhea and digestive upset
  • Circulation and vein health
  • Blood sugar support

Bilberry is a blueberry-like fruit rich in antioxidant plant compounds called anthocyanins, and it has a long history of traditional use for eye health, circulation, and mild diarrhea. While it is generally well tolerated as a food and supplement, strong scientific proof for most health claims is limited. Talk with your pharmacist or doctor before using bilberry supplements, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have a health condition.

Vaccinium myrtillus · Ericaceae · Berries (fruit) and sometimes leaves · Capsules, tablets, standardized extracts, dried berries, tea, liquid extracts

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

Bilberry: dosing

There is no single official or standardized dose of bilberry. Studies have used different forms and amounts, often using extracts standardized to a certain percentage of anthocyanins.Because products vary widely in strength, it is best to follow the directions on the product label and not exceed the recommended amount.

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

Read the full Bilberry monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Methotrexate

What Is Methotrexate Used For?

Brand names: Rheumatrex, Otrexup, Rasuvo, Reditrex

Methotrexate treats a wide range of serious conditions. In cancer care, it is used for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, osteosarcoma, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, and gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (a rare tumor related to pregnancy). It is also used to prevent and treat meningeal leukemia (cancer affecting the lining of the brain and spinal cord).

Outside of cancer, methotrexate is prescribed for adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), children with polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (a form of childhood arthritis), and adults with severe psoriasis that hasn't responded well to other treatments.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Methotrexate

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (489,806 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Rheumatoid arthritis 42,798 reports
Arthralgia 40,830 reports
Fatigue 33,049 reports
Nausea 28,999 reports
Joint swelling 25,026 reports
See full Methotrexate drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Bilberry

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

0Major
275Moderate
0Minor
2,554No known interaction
275 Moderate 2,554 No interaction
Moderate

275 interactions

Showing 60 of 275 moderate interactions — see all 275 on the Bilberry page.

No interaction 2,554 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,554 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Bilberry list.

See the full Bilberry interactions page
See every supplement checked against Methotrexate, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Bilberry References

The 14 references that drive our Bilberry 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. Cignarella A, Nastasi M, Cavalli E, Puglisi L. Novel lipid-lowering properties of Vaccinium myrtillus L. leaves, a traditional antidiabetic treatment, in several models of rat dyslipidaemia: a comparison with ciprofibrate. Thromb Res 1996;84:311-22. PubMed
  2. Morazzoni P, Magistretti MJ. Activity of Myrtocyan, an anthosyanoside complex from Vaccinium myrtillus (VMA), on platelet aggregation and adhesiveness. Fitoterapia 1990;61:13-21.
  3. Erlund, I., Koli, R., Alfthan, G., Marniemi, J., Puukka, P., Mustonen, P., Mattila, P., and Jula, A. Favorable effects of berry consumption on platelet function, blood pressure, and HDL cholesterol. Am J Clin Nutr 2008;87(2):323-331. PubMed
  4. Hawrelak, J. A. and Myers, S. P. Effects of two natural medicine formulations on irritable bowel syndrome symptoms: a pilot study. J Altern Complement Med 2010;16(10):1065-1071. PubMed
  5. Morazzoni P and Magistretti MJ. Effects of Vaccinium myrtillus anthocyanosides on prostacyclin-like activity in rat arterial issue. Fitoterapia 1986;57:11-14.
  6. Pulliero G, Montin S, Bettini V, and et al. Ex vivo study of the inhibitory effects of Vaccinium myrtillus anthocyanosides on human platelet aggregation. Fitoterapia 1989;60:69-75.
  7. Bottecchia D. Preliminary report on the inhibitory effect of vaccinium myrtillus anthocyanosides on platelet aggregation and clot retraction. Fitoterapia 1987;48:3-8.
  8. Fdez, M., Zaragoza, F., and Alvarez, P. In vitro platelet aggregation effects of anthocyanosides of vaccinium myrtilus L. Anales de la Real Academia de Farmacia 1983;49:79-90.
  9. Biedermann L, Mwinyi J, Scharl M, Frei P, Zeitz J, Kullak-Ublick GA, et al. Bilberry ingestion improves disease activity in mild to moderate ulcerative colitis-an open pilot study. 2013 May;7(4):271-9. PubMed
  10. Hoggard N, Cruickshank M, Moar KM, Bestwick C, Holst J, Russell W, et al. A single supplement of a standardized bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) extract (36% wet weight anthocyanins) modifies glycaemic response in individuals with type 2 diabetes control
  11. Aichinger G, Pahlke G, Nagel LJ, Berger W, Marko D. Bilberry extract, its major phenolic compounds, and soy isoflavone genistein antagonize the cytostatic drug erlotinib in human epithelial cells. Food Funct 2016;7(8):3628-36.
  12. Prokop J, Lněničková K, Cibicek N, et al. Effect of bilberry extract (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) on drug-metabolizing enzymes in rats. Food Chem Toxicol 2019;129:382-90. PubMed
  13. Chan SW, Chu TTW, Choi SW, Benzie IFF, Tomlinson B. Impact of short-term bilberry supplementation on glycemic control, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and antioxidant status in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes. Phytother Res 2021. Online ahead o PubMed
  14. Bøhn SK, Myhrstad MCW, Thoresen M, et al. Bilberry/red grape juice decreases plasma biomarkers of inflammation and tissue damage in aged men with subjective memory impairment -a randomized clinical trial. BMC Nutr 2021;7(1):75. 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 Bilberry and Methotrexate Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Bilberry with Methotrexate?
We do not list a known interaction between Bilberry and Methotrexate. 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.
Do Bilberry and Methotrexate have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 2 of the same effects. That is not an interaction: neither changes how your body handles the other. It does mean that if one of those effects turns up, it can be harder to tell which one is behind it. They are listed on this page with the source behind each.
How was the Bilberry and Methotrexate combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Methotrexate is filed under 6 classifications, and Bilberry has documented interactions with 4 drug classes — none of Methotrexate'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 Bilberry interact with any other medications?
Yes. Bilberry has 275 documented drug interactions in our database — Methotrexate 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 Methotrexate interact with any supplements?
Yes. Methotrexate has documented interactions with 82 supplements in our database — Bilberry is not one of them. The Methotrexate 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

Bilberry monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Methotrexate drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Methotrexate supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Methotrexate, 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 14 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Methotrexate and Bilberry?

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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.