Drug & supplement interaction

Garlic + Palifermin

Palifermin brand name: Kepivance.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Garlic and Palifermin 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

Garlic and Palifermin

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 Palifermin and Garlic 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.

Garlic safety at a glance

Garlic overall Use caution Generally safe as food, but supplements may cause stomach upset and increase bleeding risk.
Pregnancy Likely Safe When used orally in amounts commonly found in foods. Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Likely Safe When used orally in amounts commonly found in foods. 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 Palifermin and Garlic? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Palifermin

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Palifermin is filed under a single classification — oral drugs. Garlic has documented interactions with 12 drug classes — the most serious being anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs (moderate), antidiabetes drugs (moderate) and antihypertensive drugs (moderate) — and none of Palifermin’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

Garlic Does Interact With Other Medications

Garlic has 989 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Palifermin 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 Garlic

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Garlic and Palifermin 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.

  • A higher chance of infection Worth acting on reported in 6.2% of FDA reports for Palifermin Additional detail

    Garlic

    “Garlic exposure, most notably in occupational settings, may cause asthma and other symptoms such as sneezing, nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea, and sinusitis. A case of minor hemoptysis has been reported for one patient with cystic fibrosis following intake of garlic capsules orally once daily for 8 weeks. A 77-year-old female developed pneumonia related to the intake of one whole black garlic clove daily.”

    Garlic · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in asthma.

    4 sources cited
    1. 40661. van der Walt, A., Lopata, A. L., Nieuwenhuizen, N. E., and Jeebhay, M. F. Work-related allergy and asthma in spice mill workers - The impact of processing dried spices on IgE reactivity patterns. Int Arch.Allergy Immunol. 2010;152(3):271-278. PubMed
    2. 51218. Seuri, M., Taivanen, A., Ruoppi, P., and Tukiainen, H. Three cases of occupational asthma and rhinitis caused by garlic. Clin Exp.Allergy 1993;23(12):1011-1014. PubMed
    3. 51438. Smyth, A. R., Cifelli, P. M., Ortori, C. A., Righetti, K., Lewis, S., Erskine, P., Holland, E. D., Givskov, M., Williams, P., Camara, M., Barrett, D. A., and Knox, A. Garlic as an inhibitor of Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing in cystic fibrosis--a p
    4. 96011. Suzuki Y, Saito J, Misa K, Fukuhara N, Fukuhara A, Munakata M. A case of black garlic-induced pneumonia as an adverse reaction. Allergol Int. 2016;65(3):353-5. PubMed

    Palifermin

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

  • Fever reported in 16.0% of FDA reports for Palifermin Additional detail

    Garlic

    “Orally, dizziness, insomnia, headaches, diaphoresis, fever, chills, somnolence, increased appetite, euphoria, and weight loss have been reported with garlic. In one case, the smell of garlic was identified as a trigger for migraines in a 32-year-old female.”

    Garlic · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in insomnia.

    6 sources cited
    1. 15032. Macan H, Uykimpang R, Alconcel M, et al. Aged garlic extract may be safe for patients on warfarin therapy. J Nutr 2006;136(3 Suppl):793S-795S. PubMed
    2. 42692. Huang, J., Frohlich, J., and Ignaszewski, A. P. The impact of dietary changes and dietary supplements on lipid profile. Can J Cardiol 2011;27(4):488-505. PubMed
    3. 51316. Tanamai, J., Veeramanomai, S., and Indrakosas, N. The efficacy of cholesterol-lowering action and side effects of garlic enteric coated tablets in man. J Med Assoc.Thai. 2004;87(10):1156-1161.
    4. 51467. Kianoush, S., Balali-Mood, M., Mousavi, S. R., Moradi, V., Sadeghi, M., Dadpour, B., Rajabi, O., and Shakeri, M. T. Comparison of therapeutic effects of garlic and d-Penicillamine in patients with chronic occupational lead poisoning. Basic Clin.Pharmacol
    5. 51471. Nantz, M. P., Rowe, C. A., Muller, C. E., Creasy, R. A., Stanilka, J. M., and Percival, S. S. Supplementation with aged garlic extract improves both NK and gammadelta-T cell function and reduces the severity of cold and flu symptoms: a randomized, double
    6. 51520. anonymous. Garlic in cryptococcal meningitis: a preliminary report of 21 cases. Chin Med J (Engl.) 1980;93(2):123-126.

    Palifermin

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

  • A skin rash reported in 10.1% of FDA reports for Palifermin Additional detail

    Garlic

    “Orally, garlic may cause pruritus, flushing, and acne. Oral intake of a specific garlic product containing allicin (Allimax) has been associated with a case of pruritic rash. Enteric-coated garlic tablets standardized to 1.5% allicin have also been associated with a case of pruritus. Garlic has also been associated with a case of superficial pemphigus in a 49-year-old male with type 2 diabetes.”

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

    6 sources cited
    1. 51316. Tanamai, J., Veeramanomai, S., and Indrakosas, N. The efficacy of cholesterol-lowering action and side effects of garlic enteric coated tablets in man. J Med Assoc.Thai. 2004;87(10):1156-1161.
    2. 51474. Lissiman, E., Bhasale, A. L., and Cohen, M. Garlic for the common cold. Cochrane.Database.Syst.Rev. 2012;3:CD006206. PubMed
    3. 107239. Jafari F, Tabarrai M, Abbassian A, Jafari F, Ayati MH. Effect of Garlic (Allium sativum) Supplementation on Premenstrual Disorders: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2021;2021:9965064. PubMed
    4. 51564. Ruocco, V., Brenner, S., and Lombardi, M. L. A case of diet-related pemphigus. Dermatology 1996;192(4):373-374. PubMed
    5. 51467. Kianoush, S., Balali-Mood, M., Mousavi, S. R., Moradi, V., Sadeghi, M., Dadpour, B., Rajabi, O., and Shakeri, M. T. Comparison of therapeutic effects of garlic and d-Penicillamine in patients with chronic occupational lead poisoning. Basic Clin.Pharmacol
    6. 4833. Lee TY, Lam TH. Contact dermatitis due to topical treatment with garlic in Hong Kong. Contact Dermatitis 1991;24:193-6. PubMed

    Palifermin

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

  • Itching Additional detail

    Garlic

    Recorded for Garlic in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under A skin rash above.

    Palifermin

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

Reported for Garlic but not commonly for Palifermin: bleeding or bruising, stomach upset, increased appetite and an allergic reaction.

Effects for Palifermin come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Garlic come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 388 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Palifermin 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

Garlic in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy Likely Safe

When used orally in amounts commonly found in foods.

Pregnancy Possibly Unsafe

When used orally in medicinal amounts. Garlic is reported to have abortifacient activity. One study also suggests that garlic constituents are distributed to the amniotic fluid after a single dose of garlic. However, there are no published reports of garlic adversely affecting pregnancy. In clinical research, garlic 800 mg daily was used during the third trimester of pregnancy with no reported adverse outcomes. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of topical garlic during pregnancy.

Lactation Likely Safe

When used orally in amounts commonly found in foods.

Lactation Possibly Unsafe

When used orally in amounts greater than those found in foods. Several small studies suggest that garlic constituents are secreted in breast milk, and that nursing infants of mothers consuming garlic are prone to extended nursing. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of topical garlic during lactation.

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

Overlapping uses

What Palifermin Is Prescribed For, and What Garlic Has Been Studied For

These two come up together because they touch the same health topic — not because they do the same job. Palifermin is a prescription medicine with approved uses on its FDA label. Garlic is a supplement: what follows is what researchers have looked at it for, and how strong that evidence is.

Palifermin is prescribed for: Kepivance (palifermin) is used to decrease how often and how long severe oral mucositis — painful sores in the mouth and throat — occurs in patients with hematologic malignancies (blood cancers such as lymphoma, leukemia, or multiple myeloma) who are receiving high-dose, cell-damaging (myelotoxic) therapy before an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (a transplant using the patient's own stem cells). Kepivance is specifically indicated when the preparative chemotherapy or radiation regimen is expected to cause severe mucositis in most patients. It is not recommended for use with a high-dose melphalan conditioning regimen, and it was not found to be effective in the setting of allogeneic stem cell transplant (using a donor's cells). Its safety and effectiveness have not been established for patients with non-blood cancers (non-hematologic malignancies).

Garlic has been studied for:

  • Multiple myeloma studied, not established Garlic has been studied for this. Natural Medicines rates the evidence: Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Read what the research shows

    Garlic for multiple myeloma

    It is unclear if oral garlic prevents multiple myeloma.

Effectiveness ratings and the research summaries above are the verbatim record from the Natural Medicines database, which grades evidence from “Effective” down to “Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate”. A rating below the top of that scale means researchers have looked at it — not that it works, and never that it can stand in for a prescribed medicine. Do not stop or replace Palifermin on your own; if you are taking Garlic for the same health topic, tell your prescriber, especially if the medicine is being adjusted to a target.

From our Q&A

Questions About Garlic or Palifermin

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

This page covers Garlic only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Palifermin page lists 17 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Coffee Charcoal (moderate), European Mandrake (moderate), Glucomannan (moderate) and Guar Gum (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 7 moderate · 9 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Palifermin page

“Palifermin (Kepivance) is given by IV to prevent the severe mouth sores that intensive chemotherapy can cause, most often in patients heading into a stem cell transplant, and I read its interaction list with genuine caution because of how fragile those patients already are. All 17 supplements on file act on absorption through the gut,…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Palifermin interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 4,118 real supplement products containing Garlic, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Garlic. Even though Garlic itself has no known interaction with Palifermin, 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 Garlic and Palifermin 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 Garlic
Top 5%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Palifermin
Steady interest

#2,357 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 Garlic reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Garlic and Palifermin 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 Garlic

What is Garlic?

Garlic
  • High blood pressure
  • High cholesterol
  • Heart health
  • Immune support and common cold
  • Antimicrobial uses

Garlic is a common food and supplement that may modestly help with blood pressure and cholesterol, though the evidence is mixed and effects are usually small. It is generally safe in food amounts, but concentrated supplements can cause stomach upset, breath and body odor, and a higher risk of bleeding. Talk with your pharmacist or doctor before taking garlic supplements, especially if you take other medicines.

Allium sativum · Amaryllidaceae · Bulb (cloves) · Fresh cloves, powder, capsules, tablets, softgels, aged garlic extract, garlic oil

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

Garlic: dosing

There is no single official dose for garlic supplements. Different forms, such as aged garlic extract, powdered tablets, and oil, are not interchangeable. Start low and watch how you respond.

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

Read the full Garlic monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Palifermin

What Is Palifermin Used For?

Brand name: Kepivance

Kepivance (palifermin) is used to decrease how often and how long severe oral mucositis — painful sores in the mouth and throat — occurs in patients with hematologic malignancies (blood cancers such as lymphoma, leukemia, or multiple myeloma) who are receiving high-dose, cell-damaging (myelotoxic) therapy before an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (a transplant using the patient's own stem cells).

Kepivance is specifically indicated when the preparative chemotherapy or radiation regimen is expected to cause severe mucositis in most patients. It is not recommended for use with a high-dose melphalan conditioning regimen, and it was not found to be effective in the setting of allogeneic stem cell transplant (using a donor's cells). Its safety and effectiveness have not been established for patients with non-blood cancers (non-hematologic malignancies).

Most-Reported Side Effects for Palifermin

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (388 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Mucosal inflammation 56 reports
Febrile neutropenia 39 reports
Rash 39 reports
Stomatitis 34 reports
Erythema 28 reports
See full Palifermin drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Garlic

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

0Major
989Moderate
0Minor
1,840No known interaction
Moderate

989 interactions

Showing 60 of 989 moderate interactions — see all 989 on the Garlic page.

No interaction 1,840 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Garlic References

The 154 references that drive our Garlic 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. Silagy CA, Neil HA. A meta-analysis of the effect of garlic on blood pressure. J Hypertens 1994;12:463-8. DOI
  2. McMahon FG, Vargas R. Can garlic lower blood pressure? A pilot study. Pharmacotherapy 1993;13:406-7. DOI
  3. Auer W, Eiber A, Hertkorn E, et al. Hypertension and hyperlipidaemia: garlic helps in mild cases. Br J Clin Pract Suppl 1990;69:3-6.
  4. Garty BZ. Garlic burns. Pediatrics 1993;91:658-9.
  5. Rose KD, Croissant PD, Parliament CF, Levin MB. Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma with associated platelet dysfunction from excessive garlic ingestion: a case report. Neurosurg 1990;26:880-2. PubMed
  6. Burnham BE. Garlic as a possible risk for postoperative bleeding. Plast Reconstr Surg 1995;95:213.
  7. Sunter WH. Warfarin and garlic. Pharm J 1991;246:722.
  8. Berthold HK, Sudhop T, von Bergmann K. Effect of a garlic oil preparation on serum lipoproteins and cholesterol metabolism. JAMA 1998;279:1900-2.
  9. Steiner M, Khan AH, Holbert D, Lin RI. A double-blind crossover study in moderately hypercholesterolemic men that compared the effect of aged garlic extract and placebo administration on blood lipids. Am J Clin Nutr 1996;64:866-70. PubMed
  10. Steiner M, Lin RS. Changes in platelet function and susceptibility of lipoproteins to oxidation associated with administration of aged garlic extract. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol 1998;31:904-8. PubMed
  11. Gwilt PR, Lear CL, Tempero MA, et al. The effect of garlic extract on human metabolism of acetaminophen. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 1994;3:155-60.
  12. Rahman K, Billington D. Dietary supplementation with aged garlic extract inhibits ADP-induced platelet aggregation in humans. J Nutr 2000;130:2662-5. PubMed
  13. Bloch AS. Pushing the Envelope of Nutrition Support: Complementary Therapies. Nutrition 2000;16:236-9. PubMed
  14. Steiner M, Li W. Aged garlic extract, a modulator of cardiovascular risk factors: a dose-finding study on the effects of AGE on platelet functions. J Nutr 2001;131:980S-4S. PubMed
  15. Mader FH. Treatment of hyperlipidaemia with garlic-powder tablets. Evidence from the German Association of General Practitioners' multicentric placebo-controlled double-blind study. Arzneimittelforschung 1990;40:1111-6.

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 Garlic and Palifermin Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Garlic with Palifermin?
We do not list a known interaction between Garlic and Palifermin. 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 Garlic and Palifermin have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 4 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.
Are Garlic and Palifermin used for the same thing?
They overlap in purpose, which usually means the real question is whether you need both rather than whether they are safe together. This page lists the shared uses and how strong the evidence is for Garlic in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Palifermin is being adjusted to a target.
How was the Garlic and Palifermin combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Palifermin is filed under 1 classification, and Garlic has documented interactions with 12 drug classes — none of Palifermin'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 Garlic interact with any other medications?
Yes. Garlic has 989 documented drug interactions in our database — Palifermin 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 Palifermin interact with any supplements?
Yes. Palifermin has documented interactions with 17 supplements in our database — Garlic is not one of them. The Palifermin 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 Palifermin and Garlic?

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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.