Drug & supplement interaction

Eurycoma Longifolia + Imipramine

Imipramine brand names: Tofranil, Tofranil PM.

Minor Interaction
The bottom line Minor

Imipramine falls into 2 drug categories that Eurycoma Longifolia can interact with; the most serious is rated minor. Theoretically, Eurycoma longifolia might increase levels CYP1A2 substrates.

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

Eurycoma Longifolia and Imipramine

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

Why Are There 2 Interactions?

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

Minor

CYTOCHROME P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) SUBSTRATES

1 of 2

Why this applies to Imipramine

Imipramine falls under CYTOCHROME P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) SUBSTRATES — the group Eurycoma Longifolia interacts with.

Theoretically, Eurycoma longifolia might increase levels CYP1A2 substrates.
In vitro research suggests that methanolic Eurycoma longifolia root extract weakly inhibits CYP1A2 enzymes. This effect has not been reported in humans.
Severity Minor 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 gist with imipramine (Tofranil) and tongkat ali. Your body partly relies on a liver enzyme called CYP1A2 to clear imipramine. In a test tube, Eurycoma longifolia weakly slowed that same enzyme down. If that happened in the body, imipramine could clear a little more slowly and build up slightly, which in theory could mean more of the usual side effects like dry mouth, constipation, dizziness, drowsiness, or a faster heartbeat.

The honest part: this is only lab data and has not been seen in real people, so the concern is mostly theoretical and rated minor. Still, since imipramine needs careful dosing, don't start or stop anything on your own. Just run it by your pharmacist or doctor first.

References
  1. Han YM, Kim IS, Rehman SU, Choe K, Yoo HH. In vitro evaluation of the effects of Eurycoma longifolia extract on CYP-mediated drug metabolism. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2015;2015:631329.
Minor

CYTOCHROME P450 2C19 (CYP2C19) SUBSTRATES

2 of 2

Imipramine also falls under CYTOCHROME P450 2C19 (CYP2C19) SUBSTRATES.

Theoretically, Eurycoma longifolia might increase levels of CYP2C19 substrates.
In vitro research suggests that methanolic Eurycoma longifolia root extract weakly inhibits CYP2C19 enzymes. This effect has not been reported in humans.
Severity Minor 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 gist for imipramine (Tofranil). Your body uses a liver enzyme called CYP2C19 as one of the ways it breaks imipramine down. In a test tube, tongkat ali appeared to weakly slow that enzyme. If that were to happen in a person, imipramine could clear a bit more slowly and build up slightly, which might nudge up the usual tricyclic side effects like dry mouth, constipation, drowsiness, dizziness on standing, or a faster heartbeat.

That said, this is purely theoretical and rated minor. It has only been seen in lab studies, never in actual people, and imipramine has several other breakdown routes. I wouldn't lose sleep over it, but since this drug already needs careful dosing, just give your pharmacist or doctor a heads-up before adding the supplement.

References
  1. Han YM, Kim IS, Rehman SU, Choe K, Yoo HH. In vitro evaluation of the effects of Eurycoma longifolia extract on CYP-mediated drug metabolism. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2015;2015:631329.

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

Eurycoma Longifolia Also Interacts With Other Medications

Eurycoma Longifolia has 3 moderate, 244 minor known drug interactions in our database — the Imipramine 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 Eurycoma Longifolia

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Eurycoma Longifolia or Imipramine

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

This page covers Eurycoma Longifolia only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Imipramine page lists 254 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), American Hellebore (major), Arsenic (major), Cesium (major) and Ephedra (major).

By severity: 11 major · 190 moderate · 53 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Imipramine page

“Imipramine (Tofranil) is an older tricyclic antidepressant, and the supplements on this page deserve real scrutiny before you add one. Most of the list acts on the liver enzymes that process the drug, so an ingredient can quietly raise or lower imipramine levels: grapefruit pushes them up, while St.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Imipramine interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 1,122 real supplement products containing Eurycoma Longifolia, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Eurycoma Longifolia. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Imipramine too, on top of Eurycoma Longifolia — 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 Eurycoma Longifolia and Imipramine 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 Eurycoma Longifolia
Top 10%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Imipramine
Top half

#814 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 Eurycoma Longifolia

What is Eurycoma Longifolia?

Eurycoma Longifolia
  • Low testosterone or low libido in men
  • Male fertility support
  • Athletic performance and muscle strength
  • Energy and fatigue
  • Stress and mood
  • General male enhancement

Eurycoma longifolia (tongkat ali) is a Southeast Asian herb most popular for supporting testosterone, libido, and male fertility, with some small human studies suggesting possible benefits. However, the overall evidence is still limited and product quality varies widely, so talk with your pharmacist or doctor before using it, and avoid it if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Read the full Eurycoma Longifolia monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Imipramine

What Is Imipramine Used For?

Brand names: Tofranil, Tofranil PM

Imipramine is used to relieve symptoms of depression. Both Imipramine Hydrochloride tablets and Imipramine Pamoate capsules are approved for this use. Endogenous depression — the kind that seems to arise from within rather than a clear outside cause — tends to respond especially well. It may take one to three weeks before you notice the full benefit.

Imipramine Hydrochloride tablets are also approved as a short-term, add-on treatment to help reduce nighttime bedwetting (nocturnal enuresis) in children aged 6 and older, after a doctor has ruled out physical causes.

See full Imipramine drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Eurycoma Longifolia

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

0Major
3Moderate
244Minor
2,582No known interaction
Moderate

3 interactions

Minor

244 interactions

Showing 60 of 244 minor interactions — see all 244 on the Eurycoma Longifolia page.

No interaction 2,582 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 Eurycoma Longifolia and Imipramine Together: Common Questions

Can you take Eurycoma Longifolia with Imipramine?
There is only a minor interaction, which is usually not serious. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
Why are there 2 interactions listed for Eurycoma Longifolia and Imipramine?
Imipramine belongs to more than one drug category, and Eurycoma Longifolia 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 Eurycoma Longifolia and Imipramine interaction?
We rate it Minor. This interaction is generally not clinically significant, but it remains worth noting and discussing with your pharmacist.

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

Still Have a Question About Imipramine and Eurycoma Longifolia?

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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.