Drug & supplement interaction

Evening Primrose + Lisinopril

Lisinopril brand names: Zestril, Prinivil, Qbrelis.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Evening Primrose and Lisinopril 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

Evening Primrose and Lisinopril

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 Lisinopril and Evening Primrose 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.

Evening Primrose safety at a glance

Evening Primrose overall Use caution Generally well tolerated short-term, but quality evidence and long-term safety data are limited.
Pregnancy Possibly Safe When evening primrose oil is used orally and appropriately. In small studies of evening primrose oil for pre-eclampsia, 4 grams has been used orally daily for u... Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Possibly Safe When evening primrose oil is used orally. Supplementation with evening primrose oil during lactation results in the secretion of high levels of the constituent... 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 Lisinopril and Evening Primrose? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Lisinopril

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Lisinopril is filed under 6 classifications — including ace inhibitors (aceis), antihypertensive drugs, photosensitizing drugs. Evening Primrose has documented interactions with 5 drug classes — the most serious being anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs (moderate), lithium (moderate) and lopinavir/ritonavir (kaletra) (moderate) — and none of Lisinopril’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

Evening Primrose Does Interact With Other Medications

Evening Primrose has 148 moderate, 85 minor known drug interactions in our database — Lisinopril isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Evening Primrose

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Evening Primrose and Lisinopril 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. One of them is worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Bleeding or bruising Worth acting on Additional detail

    Evening Primrose

    “Orally, use of evening primrose oil has been associated with reports of skin rash and acne. There is a case report of extensive but transient petechiae and purpuric ecchymoses in a newborn infant whose mother had consumed raspberry leaf tea and a total of 6.5 grams of evening primrose oil orally and vaginally during the week prior to delivery.”

    Evening Primrose · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in acne.

    4 sources cited
    1. 9156. Blommers J, de Lange-De Klerk ES, Kuik DJ, et al. Evening primrose oil and fish oil for severe chronic mastalgia: a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2002;187:1389-94.. DOI
    2. 9794. Cheung KL. Management of cyclical mastalgia in oriental women: pioneer experience of using gamolenic acid (Efamast) in Asia. Aust N Z J Surg 1999;69:492-4..
    3. 49338. Preece PE, Hanslip JI Gilbert L. Evening primrose oil (Efamol) for mastalgia. In: Horrobin DF. Clinical Uses of Essential Fatty Acids . Montreal, Quebec: Eden;1982.
    4. 16303. Wedig KE, Whitsett JA. Down the primrose path: petechiae in a neonate exposed to herbal remedy for parturition. J Pediatr 2008;152:140, 140.e1. PubMed

    “There is preliminary clinical evidence that evening primrose oil can decrease platelet aggregation and prolong bleeding time. In a small study of patients with hyperlipidemia, taking evening primrose oil 3 grams daily for 4 months was associated with a 40% increase in bleeding time, and decreases in ADP- and epinephrine-induced platelet aggregation of 50% and 60% respectively.”

    Evening Primrose · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in hypercholesterolemia.

    2 sources cited
    1. 1979. Guivernau M, Meza N, Barja P, Roman O. Clinical and experimental study on the long-term effect of dietary gamma-linolenic acid on plasma lipids, platelet aggregation, thromboxane formation, and prostacyclin production. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty A PubMed
    2. 16303. Wedig KE, Whitsett JA. Down the primrose path: petechiae in a neonate exposed to herbal remedy for parturition. J Pediatr 2008;152:140, 140.e1. PubMed

    Lisinopril

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

  • Bloating or gas / Stomach upset / Stomach pain / Diarrhea / Nausea / Vomiting reported in 6.1% of FDA reports for Lisinopril Additional detail

    Evening Primrose

    “Gastrointestinal complaints, including abdominal pain, distension and fullness, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, dyspepsia, and flatulence are the most common adverse effects of evening primrose. Often these effects resolve with continued use. Altered taste has also been reported.”

    Evening Primrose · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in diarrhea.

    6 sources cited
    1. 8926. Keen H, Payan J, Allawi J, et al. Treatment of diabetic neuropathy with gamma-linolenic acid. The gamma-Linolenic Acid Multicenter Trial Group. Diabetes Care 1993;16:8-15.
    2. 9794. Cheung KL. Management of cyclical mastalgia in oriental women: pioneer experience of using gamolenic acid (Efamast) in Asia. Aust N Z J Surg 1999;69:492-4..
    3. 20533. Tong M. [Treatment of hyperlipemia with evening primrose oil capsules]. Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 1988;8:469-71, 452-3.
    4. 49188. Yoon, S., Lee, J., and Lee, S. The therapeutic effect of evening primrose oil in atopic dermatitis patients with dry scaly skin lesions is associated with the normalization of serum gamma-interferon levels. Skin Pharmacol Appl.Skin Physiol 2002;15(1):20- PubMed
    5. 49286. Bamford, J. T., Gibson, R. W., and Renier, C. M. Atopic eczema unresponsive to evening primrose oil (linoleic and gamma- linolenic acids). J Am.Acad.Dermatol. 1985;13(6):959-965.
    6. 49339. Parveen, S. Sarwar G. Ali M. Channa G. A. Danazol versus oil of evening primrose in the treatment of mastalgia. Pakistan Journal of Surgery. 2007;23(1):10-13.

    Lisinopril

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

  • Dizziness / Headache reported in 4.5% of FDA reports for Lisinopril Additional detail

    Evening Primrose

    “Cases of dizziness and headache have been reported with evening primrose oil when used orally.

    There is a report of seizures in a patient taking evening primrose oil and receiving anesthesia; however, the patient was also taking other drugs and it is therefore unclear if evening primrose was the cause.”

    Evening Primrose · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in cluster headache.

    6 sources cited
    1. 9794. Cheung KL. Management of cyclical mastalgia in oriental women: pioneer experience of using gamolenic acid (Efamast) in Asia. Aust N Z J Surg 1999;69:492-4..
    2. 88184. Farzaneh F, Fatehi S, Sohrabi MR, Alizadeh K. The effect of oral evening primrose oil on menopausal hot flashes: a randomized clinical trial. Arch Gynecol Obstet 2013;288(5):1075-9. PubMed
    3. 613. Shaw D, Leon C, Kolev S, Murray V. Traditional remedies and food supplements: a 5-year toxicological study (1991-1995). Drug Saf 1997;17:342-56.
    4. 21013. Vaddadi KS. The use of gamma-linolenic acid and linoleic acid to differentiate between temporal lobe epilepsy and schizophrenia. Prostaglandins Med 1981;6(4):375-379. PubMed
    5. 21010. Holman CP and Bell AF. A trial of evening primrose oil in the treatment of chronic schizophrenia. J Orhtomolecular Psych 1983;12:302-304.
    6. 88187. Puri BK. The safety of evening primrose oil in epilepsy. Prostaglandins Leukotrienes Essential Fatty Acids 2007;77:101-3. PubMed

    Lisinopril

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

  • A skin rash Additional detail

    Evening Primrose

    Recorded for Evening Primrose in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Bleeding or bruising above.

    Lisinopril

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

Reported for Evening Primrose but not commonly for Lisinopril: a change in taste, seizures and acne.

Effects for Lisinopril come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Evening Primrose come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 313,746 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Lisinopril 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

Evening Primrose in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy Possibly Safe

When evening primrose oil is used orally and appropriately. In small studies of evening primrose oil for pre-eclampsia, 4 grams has been used orally daily for up to 10 weeks during pregnancy with apparent safety. ...when evening primrose oil is used orally or intravaginally to improve cervical ripening. Evening primrose oil has been used safely during the last 1-3 weeks of pregnancy to improve cervical ripening. Intravaginally, evening primrose oil 500-1000 mg as either a single dose or administered daily starting at week 38 until pregnancy has been used with apparent safety for this purpose. Orally, evening primrose oil 1500-4500 mg in divided doses daily for 1-3 weeks has been used with apparent safety for this purpose, although one study found 5 cases of meconium-stained amniotic fluid. Some studies report that improvement was lacking and there was a trend toward prolonged labor, prolonged rupture of membranes, increased rates of arrest of descent, and increased oxytocin requirements. Intravaginally, evening primrose oil, 1000 mg every 4 hours up to 5 times or 2000 mg as a single dose, has been used as an adjunct to misoprostol for a medication abortion with apparent safety for this purpose. Evening primrose oil has also been linked to a case report of petechiae and ecchymoses in a newborn infant whose mother took a total of 6.5 grams during the week before giving birth; use with caution, especially in high doses.

Lactation Possibly Safe

When evening primrose oil is used orally. Supplementation with evening primrose oil during lactation results in the secretion of high levels of the constituent gamma linolenic acid into breast milk; however, this fatty acid is normally present in significant amounts in breast milk.

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 Evening Primrose or Lisinopril

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

This page covers Evening Primrose only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Lisinopril page lists 167 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), American Hellebore (major), American Mistletoe (major), Asarabacca (major) and Siberian Cocklebur (major).

By severity: 6 major · 137 moderate · 24 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Lisinopril page

“Lisinopril is an ACE inhibitor that lowers blood pressure and protects the heart and kidneys, so the 167 supplements and herbs on this page warrant genuine care. Six carry a major rating, and those deserve your attention first.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Lisinopril interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 98 real supplement products containing Evening Primrose, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Evening Primrose. Even though Evening Primrose itself has no known interaction with Lisinopril, 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 Evening Primrose and Lisinopril 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 Evening Primrose
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Lisinopril
Top 1%

#26 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 Evening Primrose reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Evening Primrose and Lisinopril records this page draws on were last updated July 11, 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 Evening Primrose

What is Evening Primrose?

Evening Primrose
  • Eczema and skin health
  • PMS symptoms
  • Breast pain (mastalgia)
  • Menopause symptoms
  • Inflammation
  • Diabetic nerve pain

Evening primrose oil is a seed oil rich in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), an omega-6 fatty acid, that is popularly used for skin conditions, PMS, and breast pain. The evidence behind most of these uses is mixed or weak, and it is not proven to be a reliable treatment for any condition. It is generally well tolerated for short-term use, but talk to your pharmacist or doctor before starting it, especially if you are pregnant or have a bleeding disorder.

Oenothera biennis · Onagraceae · Seed oil · Capsules, softgels, oil, topical creams

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

Evening Primrose: dosing

There is no official, well-established standard dose of evening primrose oil. Do not assume that taking more will give a better result, and avoid using it long-term without medical guidance.

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

Read the full Evening Primrose monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Lisinopril

What Is Lisinopril Used For?

Brand names: Zestril, Prinivil, Qbrelis

Lisinopril treats high blood pressure (hypertension) in adults and children 6 years and older, and can be used alone or alongside other blood pressure medicines. Lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of strokes and heart attacks. The tablet combination product containing lisinopril and hydrochlorothiazide is specifically indicated for high blood pressure.

Lisinopril is also used as an add-on therapy to reduce signs and symptoms of systolic heart failure, and to reduce the risk of death in people who are hemodynamically stable (have reasonably stable circulation) within 24 hours of an acute heart attack (acute myocardial infarction).

Most-Reported Side Effects for Lisinopril

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (313,746 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Fatigue 20,515 reports
Nausea 19,130 reports
Diarrhea 17,858 reports
Dyspnea 14,363 reports
Dizziness 13,969 reports
See full Lisinopril drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Evening Primrose

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

0Major
148Moderate
85Minor
2,596No known interaction
Moderate

148 interactions

Showing 60 of 148 moderate interactions — see all 148 on the Evening Primrose page.

Minor

85 interactions

Showing 60 of 85 minor interactions — see all 85 on the Evening Primrose page.

No interaction 2,596 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Evening Primrose References

The 33 references that drive our Evening Primrose 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. Shaw D, Leon C, Kolev S, Murray V. Traditional remedies and food supplements: a 5-year toxicological study (1991-1995). Drug Saf 1997;17:342-56.
  2. Laivuori H, Hovatta O, Viinikka L, et al. Dietary supplementation with primrose oil or fish oil does not change urinary excretion of prostacyclin and thromboxane metabolites in pre-eclamptic women. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 1993;49:691-4. PubMed
  3. Dove D, Johnson P. Oral evening primrose oil: its effect on length of pregnancy and selected intrapartum outcomes in low-risk nulliparous women (abstract). J Nurse Midwifery 1999;44:320-4. PubMed
  4. Guivernau M, Meza N, Barja P, Roman O. Clinical and experimental study on the long-term effect of dietary gamma-linolenic acid on plasma lipids, platelet aggregation, thromboxane formation, and prostacyclin production. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty A PubMed
  5. Cant A, Shay J, Horrobin DF. The effect of maternal supplementation with linoleic and gamma- linolenic acids on the fat composition and content of human milk: a placebo-controlled trial. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) 1991;37:573-9. PubMed
  6. Keen H, Payan J, Allawi J, et al. Treatment of diabetic neuropathy with gamma-linolenic acid. The gamma-Linolenic Acid Multicenter Trial Group. Diabetes Care 1993;16:8-15.
  7. Blommers J, de Lange-De Klerk ES, Kuik DJ, et al. Evening primrose oil and fish oil for severe chronic mastalgia: a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2002;187:1389-94.. DOI
  8. Cheung KL. Management of cyclical mastalgia in oriental women: pioneer experience of using gamolenic acid (Efamast) in Asia. Aust N Z J Surg 1999;69:492-4..
  9. Das UN. The lipids that matter from infant nutrition to insulin resistance. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 2002;67:1-12. PubMed
  10. Wedig KE, Whitsett JA. Down the primrose path: petechiae in a neonate exposed to herbal remedy for parturition. J Pediatr 2008;152:140, 140.e1. PubMed
  11. Ty-Torredes KA. The effect of oral evening primrose oil on bishop score and cervical length amongst term gravidas. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2006;195(6 Suppl 1):S30.
  12. Moodley J and Norman RJ. Attempts at dietary alteration of prostaglandin pathways in the management of pre-eclampsia. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 1989;37(3):145-147. PubMed
  13. Tong M. [Treatment of hyperlipemia with evening primrose oil capsules]. Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 1988;8:469-71, 452-3.
  14. Holman CP and Bell AF. A trial of evening primrose oil in the treatment of chronic schizophrenia. J Orhtomolecular Psych 1983;12:302-304.
  15. Vaddadi KS. The use of gamma-linolenic acid and linoleic acid to differentiate between temporal lobe epilepsy and schizophrenia. Prostaglandins Med 1981;6(4):375-379. 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 Evening Primrose and Lisinopril Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Evening Primrose with Lisinopril?
We do not list a known interaction between Evening Primrose and Lisinopril. 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 Evening Primrose and Lisinopril have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 10 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 Evening Primrose and Lisinopril combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Lisinopril is filed under 6 classifications, and Evening Primrose has documented interactions with 5 drug classes — none of Lisinopril'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 Evening Primrose interact with any other medications?
Yes. Evening Primrose has 233 documented drug interactions in our database — Lisinopril 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 Lisinopril interact with any supplements?
Yes. Lisinopril has documented interactions with 167 supplements in our database — Evening Primrose is not one of them. The Lisinopril interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

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

Still Have a Question About Lisinopril and Evening Primrose?

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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.