Drug & supplement interaction

Elderberry + etanercept

etanercept brand name: Enbrel.

Moderate Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated September 2026
The bottom line Moderate

Elderberry has a moderate interaction with etanercept. Theoretically, elderberry might interfere with immunosuppressant therapy due to its immunostimulant activity.

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

Elderberry and etanercept

Here is the interaction we found between these two, with the evidence behind it.

Moderate

IMMUNOSUPPRESSANTS

Why this applies to etanercept

etanercept falls under IMMUNOSUPPRESSANTS — the group Elderberry interacts with.

Theoretically, elderberry might interfere with immunosuppressant therapy due to its immunostimulant activity.
Elderberry has immunostimulant activity, increasing the production of cytokines, including interleukin and tumor necrosis factor.
Severity Moderate Likelihood Possible Evidence B

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 to keep in mind with Enbrel (etanercept). This medicine works by quieting down an inflammatory signal in your immune system called tumor necrosis factor, or TNF. That's how it calms the joint pain and swelling of conditions like rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis.

Elderberry is thought to do the opposite. Lab work suggests it may rev up the immune system and actually raise things like TNF, which is the very signal Enbrel is trying to lower. In theory, that could work against your medication and leave your symptoms less controlled. I'll be honest though, this is mostly test-tube reasoning and lower-quality evidence, not a proven problem in people. An occasional culinary serving is unlikely to matter much more than a daily concentrated supplement. Before adding elderberry, just check in with your pharmacist or doctor.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Barak V, Halperin T, Kalickman I. The effect of Sambucol, a black elderberry-based, natural product, on the production of human cytokines: I. Inflammatory cytokines. Eur Cytokine Netw 2001;12:290-6..

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

Elderberry Also Interacts With Other Medications

Elderberry has 120 moderate known drug interactions in our database — the etanercept one above is one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 120 No known interaction 2,710 (incl. etanercept)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Elderberry

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Elderberry or etanercept

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Elderberry or etanercept, 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 etanercept

This page covers Elderberry only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the etanercept page lists 53 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Active Hexose Correlated Compound (ahcc) (moderate), Alfalfa (moderate), American Ginseng (moderate), Andrographis (moderate) and Ashwagandha (moderate).

By severity: 52 moderate · 1 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the etanercept page

“Etanercept (Enbrel) treats conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis by deliberately quieting part of the immune system, and nearly every supplement on this page pulls in the opposite direction. Echinacea, ashwagandha, astragalus, and dozens of other immune-stimulating herbs and mushrooms could, at least in theory, blunt the d…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the etanercept interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 226 real supplement products containing Elderberry, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Elderberry. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with etanercept too, on top of Elderberry — 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 Elderberry and etanercept 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 Elderberry
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication etanercept
Top 25%

#553 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 Elderberry

What is Elderberry?

Elderberry
  • Colds
  • Flu (influenza)
  • Other respiratory infections
  • Immune support
  • Sinus and upper respiratory symptoms

Elderberry is a popular herbal supplement, mainly taken to help with colds and flu. Some small studies suggest it may modestly shorten cold or flu symptoms, but the evidence is limited and not conclusive. Cooked berries and properly prepared products are generally well tolerated, but raw or unripe parts can cause nausea and should be avoided.

Read the full Elderberry monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Etanercept Injection

What Is Etanercept Injection Used For?

Brand name: Enbrel

Enbrel (etanercept) injection is approved to treat several inflammatory conditions. In adults, it is used for moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and chronic moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

In children, Enbrel is approved for polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis and juvenile psoriatic arthritis in patients 2 years and older, and for chronic moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in patients 4 years and older.

See full Etanercept Injection drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Elderberry

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

0Major
120Moderate
0Minor
2,709No known interaction
120 Moderate 2,709 No interaction
Moderate

120 interactions

Showing 60 of 120 moderate interactions — see all 120 on the Elderberry page.

No interaction 2,709 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,709 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Elderberry list.

See the full Elderberry interactions page
See every supplement checked against etanercept, ranked by severity
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

Keep exploring
Elderberry monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place etanercept supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against etanercept, ranked by severity Etanercept Injection drug information › The full plain-English guide to this medication Supplement interaction checker › Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z › Every drug we've checked against herbs & supplements Ask a pharmacist › Free, personal answer from our licensed team
Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Elderberry and etanercept Together: Common Questions

Can you take Elderberry with etanercept?
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.
How serious is the Elderberry and etanercept 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

Still Have a Question About etanercept and Elderberry?

Our pharmacists answer your medication & supplement questions — free.

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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.