Drug & supplement interaction

Ceylon Leadwort + Ibrutinib

Ibrutinib brand name: Imbruvica.

Moderate Interaction
The bottom line Moderate

Ibrutinib falls into 2 drug categories that Ceylon Leadwort can interact with; the most serious is rated moderate. Plumbagin, a constituent of Ceylon leadwort, has been shown to inhibit cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) in vitro.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityModerate
LikelihoodPossible
Interactions2
EvidenceD
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Ceylon Leadwort and Ibrutinib

These two interact in 2 distinct ways. Each one is explained separately below.

Why Are There 2 Interactions?

Ceylon Leadwort interacts with whole categories of medication. Ibrutinib falls into 2 of those categories, so it can interact with Ceylon Leadwort in 2 different ways. We’ve listed each one below — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them (Moderate).

Moderate

CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES

1 of 2

Why this applies to Ibrutinib

Ibrutinib falls under CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES — the group Ceylon Leadwort interacts with.

Plumbagin, a constituent of Ceylon leadwort, has been shown to inhibit cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) in vitro. So far, this interaction has not been reported in humans. Theoretically, Ceylon leadwort might increase the levels of drugs metabolized by CYP3A4. Some drugs metabolized by CYP3A4 include lovastatin (Mevacor), clarithromycin (Biaxin), indinavir (Crixivan), sildenafil (Viagra), triazolam (Halcion), and numerous others.
Severity Moderate Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Interaction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here's the situation with Imbruvica (ibrutinib). Your body relies heavily on an enzyme called CYP3A4 to clear this drug from your system. In lab studies, plumbagin (a compound in Ceylon Leadwort) appears to slow that enzyme down. If that same effect happened in a person, ibrutinib could build up higher than intended.

Why that matters: ibrutinib already carries a real risk of bleeding and bruising, infections, diarrhea, and heart rhythm problems, and higher levels could make those worse. The important catch is that this is only seen in test-tube research, not in actual patients, so we don't truly know how much it matters. Since ibrutinib is a serious cancer medicine, please don't add this supplement without first checking with your oncologist or pharmacist.

References
  1. Chen A, Zhou X, Tang S, Liu M, Wang X. Evaluation of the inhibition potential of plumbagin against cytochrome P450 using LC-MS/MS and cocktail approach. Sci Rep. 2016 Jun 22;6:28482. PubMed
Moderate

ANTICOAGULANT/ANTIPLATELET DRUGS

2 of 2

Ibrutinib also falls under ANTICOAGULANT/ANTIPLATELET DRUGS.

There is some concern that Ceylon leadwort might potentiate the effects of anticoagulant and antiplatelet drugs and possibly increase the risk of bleeding. Ceylon leadwort root extract has been shown to decrease platelet adhesion and prolong bleeding in animals. However, this effect has not yet been demonstrated in humans. Until more is known, use cautiously in patients taking anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs. Some of these drugs include aspirin, clopidogrel (Plavix), dalteparin (Fragmin), enoxaparin (Lovenox), heparin, ticlopidine (Ticlid), warfarin (Coumadin), and others.
Severity Moderate Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Interaction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here's the thing about ibrutinib (Imbruvica): on its own, it already raises your bleeding risk. It blocks an enzyme called BTK, which plays a role in how your platelets stick together and form clots. That's why bruising, nosebleeds, and bleeding gums are well-known side effects, and why doctors watch this closely around surgeries.

Ceylon Leadwort, in animal research, has been shown to make platelets less sticky and prolong bleeding too. We haven't seen this proven in people yet, so this is more of a theoretical concern stacked on top of a drug that already thins the blood. Still, because both push in the same direction, I'd play it safe. Please check with your oncology team or pharmacist before combining them, and watch for unusual bruising or bleeding.

References
  1. Vijayakumar R, Senthilvelan M, Ravindran R, Devi RS. Plumbago zeylanica action on blood coagulation profile with and without blood volume reduction. Vascul Pharmacol. 2006 Aug;45(2):86-90. PubMed

What These Ratings Mean

Every interaction above is graded three ways — here’s the key to each label.

Severity how clinically significant the interaction is
Major

Clinically significant. Avoid the combination, or use only under close professional supervision.

Moderate

Usually worth avoiding or managing — may need monitoring, a dose change, or timing apart.

Minor

Generally not serious. Be aware of it and mention it to your pharmacist.

Likelihood how strong the evidence is that the interaction actually happens in people
  • LikelyWell-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction.
  • ProbableInteraction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports.
  • PossibleInteraction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.
  • UnlikelyInteraction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.
Evidence the quality of the studies behind the rating (graded A–D)
  • AHigh-quality meta-analysis (quantitative systematic review).
  • BCase-control study.
  • CConsensus.
  • DAnecdotal evidence.

These ratings are for information only. Never start, stop, or otherwise change your therapy before speaking with your provider.

Keep it in perspective

Ceylon Leadwort Also Interacts With Other Medications

Ceylon Leadwort has 1,096 moderate known drug interactions in our database — the Ibrutinib one above is among them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Ceylon Leadwort

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

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Ibrutinib

This page covers Ceylon Leadwort only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Ibrutinib page lists 282 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Danshen (major), Grapefruit (major), Piracetam (major) and St. John's Wort (major).

By severity: 5 major · 236 moderate · 41 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Ibrutinib page

“Ibrutinib (Imbruvica) treats blood cancers such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and because the drug itself makes bruising and bleeding more likely, adding the wrong supplement here can carry real consequences. Most of the entries below have blood-thinning or antiplatelet activity that stacks on top of that built-in bleeding risk.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Ibrutinib interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 96 real supplement products containing Ceylon Leadwort, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Ceylon Leadwort. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Ibrutinib too, on top of Ceylon Leadwort — and those would not show on this page. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Ceylon Leadwort and Ibrutinib 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 Ceylon Leadwort
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Ibrutinib
Top 25%

#578 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.

Supplement

About Ceylon Leadwort

What is Ceylon Leadwort?

  • Digestive complaints and poor appetite
  • Skin conditions and wounds (applied to the skin)
  • Joint pain and swelling
  • Traditional 'metabolism-boosting' tonics
  • Antimicrobial folk remedy

Ceylon Leadwort (Plumbago zeylanica) is a plant long used in Ayurvedic and other traditional medicine systems, mainly for digestion, skin problems, and pain. Solid human studies are lacking, and the plant contains plumbagin, a compound that can irritate skin and tissues and may be unsafe in larger amounts. Talk to a pharmacist or doctor before using it, and avoid it in pregnancy.

Read the full Ceylon Leadwort monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Ibrutinib

What Is Ibrutinib Used For?

Brand name: Imbruvica

Imbruvica (ibrutinib) is used in adults to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), including cases with a specific genetic change called 17p deletion. It is also used in adults to treat Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM), a rare type of slow-growing blood cancer.

Imbruvica is also approved for adults and children aged 1 year and older with chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) — a serious immune complication that can occur after a stem cell or bone marrow transplant — when at least one prior treatment has not worked.

See full Ibrutinib drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Ceylon Leadwort

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

0Major
1,096Moderate
0Minor
1,733No known interaction
Moderate

1,096 interactions

Showing 60 of 1,096 moderate interactions — see all 1,096 on the Ceylon Leadwort page.

No interaction 1,733 drugs checked — show the list
Sources

Sources & How We Checked

Interaction details are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database. The medication overview comes from MedlinePlus.

Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists. See our data sources and editorial standards for how this information is built and checked.

Parts of this content are provided by the Therapeutic Research Center, LLC.

DISCLAIMER: Currently this does not check for drug-drug interactions. This is not an all-inclusive comprehensive list of potential interactions and is for informational purposes only. Not all interactions are known or well-reported in the scientific literature, and new interactions are continually being reported. Input is needed from a qualified healthcare provider including a pharmacist before starting any therapy. Application of clinical judgment is necessary.

© 2021 Therapeutic Research Center, LLC

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Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Ceylon Leadwort and Ibrutinib Together: Common Questions

Can you take Ceylon Leadwort with Ibrutinib?
There is a moderate interaction, so it may be acceptable with monitoring or timing changes — but check with your pharmacist first. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
Why are there 2 interactions listed for Ceylon Leadwort and Ibrutinib?
Ibrutinib belongs to more than one drug category, and Ceylon Leadwort interacts with each of those categories a little differently. We list every one so nothing is missed — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them.
How serious is the Ceylon Leadwort and Ibrutinib interaction?
We rate it Moderate. This combination may require monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separating the times you take each one. Consult your pharmacist before using them together.

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

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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.