Drug & supplement interaction

Grape + Ibrutinib

Ibrutinib brand name: Imbruvica.

Moderate Interaction
The bottom line Moderate

Ibrutinib falls into 2 drug categories that Grape can interact with; the most serious is rated moderate. It is unclear if grape seed extract inhibits or induces CYP3A4; research is conflicting.

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

Grape and Ibrutinib

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

Why Are There 2 Interactions?

Grape interacts with whole categories of medication. Ibrutinib falls into 2 of those categories, so it can interact with Grape 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 Grape interacts with.

It is unclear if grape seed extract inhibits or induces CYP3A4; research is conflicting.
In vitro evidence suggests that grape seed extract might inhibit CYP3A4 enzymes. However, evidence from animal research shows that grape seed extract may induce CYP3A4 in the liver. So far, these interactions have not been reported in humans.
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 grape seed extract and your ibrutinib. Ibrutinib is an active cancer drug (not a prodrug), and your liver clears it using an enzyme called CYP3A4. Grape seed extract can tug on that enzyme, but honestly the research pulls in both directions. Lab dish studies hint it might slow CYP3A4, which could let ibrutinib build up and raise the chance of side effects like bruising, bleeding, diarrhea, or an irregular heartbeat. Animal studies suggest the opposite, that it might speed up clearance and weaken the drug.

The good news: none of this has actually been seen in people, so it's theoretical. Still, ibrutinib is serious medicine, so please run any grape seed supplement past your oncologist or pharmacist first. Eating grapes is fine.

References
  1. Nishikawa, M., Ariyoshi, N., Kotani, A., Ishii, I., Nakamura, H., Nakasa, H., Ida, M., Nakamura, H., Kimura, N., Kimura, M., Hasegawa, A., Kusu, F., Ohmori, S., Nakazawa, K., and Kitada, M. Effects of continuous ingestion of green tea or grape seed extra
  2. Etheridge, A. S., Black, S. R., Patel, P. R., So, J., and Mathews, J. M. An in vitro evaluation of cytochrome P450 inhibition and P-glycoprotein interaction with goldenseal, Ginkgo biloba, grape seed, milk thistle, and ginseng extracts and their constitu
Moderate

ANTICOAGULANT/ANTIPLATELET DRUGS

2 of 2

Ibrutinib also falls under ANTICOAGULANT/ANTIPLATELET DRUGS.

Theoretically, grape extracts may have antiplatelet effects and may increase the risk of bleeding if used with anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs.
In vitro evidence suggests that grape extracts might decrease platelet aggregation.
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 to keep in mind with Imbruvica (ibrutinib): on its own it already raises your risk of bleeding and bruising, since it affects how your platelets stick together. Grape supplements, like concentrated grape seed extract, may do something similar. In lab studies, grape compounds slowed platelet clumping, so stacking the two could in theory nudge your bleeding risk a little higher.

To be honest, this concern comes only from test-tube research, not from people, so it's more of a caution than a proven problem. Eating grapes or drinking grape juice in normal amounts is very unlikely to matter. Watch for things like easy bruising, nosebleeds, or bleeding gums, and please check with your oncology pharmacist or doctor before adding a grape supplement.

References
  1. de Lange, D. W., Scholman, W. L., Kraaijenhagen, R. J., Akkerman, J. W., and van de Wiel, A. Alcohol and polyphenolic grape extract inhibit platelet adhesion in flowing blood. Eur.J Clin.Invest 2004;34(12):818-824. PubMed
  2. de Lange, D. W., Verhoef, S., Gorter, G., Kraaijenhagen, R. J., van de Wiel, A., and Akkerman, J. W. Polyphenolic grape extract inhibits platelet activation through PECAM-1: an explanation for the French paradox. Alcohol Clin.Exp.Res 2007;31(8):1308-1314 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

Grape Also Interacts With Other Medications

Grape has 867 moderate, 42 minor 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 Grape

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Grape or Ibrutinib

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

This page covers Grape 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 Grape as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 8,053 real supplement products containing Grape, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Grape. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Ibrutinib too, on top of Grape — 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 Grape 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 Grape
Top 5%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Ibrutinib
Top 25%

#580 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 Grape

What is Grape?

Grape
  • Antioxidant support
  • Heart and circulation health
  • Vein problems (such as varicose veins)
  • Eye health
  • General anti-inflammatory support

Grapes and grape products like grape seed extract contain antioxidant compounds such as resveratrol and proanthocyanidins that may support heart and blood vessel health. While the food is healthy and generally safe, the supplement evidence for treating specific conditions is mostly limited or preliminary. Talk with your pharmacist or doctor before starting a grape supplement.

Read the full Grape monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Ibrutinib

What Is Ibrutinib Used For?

Brand name: Imbruvica

Imbruvica (ibrutinib) is approved for adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) / small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), including those with a specific genetic change called 17p deletion, and for adult patients with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM), a rare type of blood cancer.

Imbruvica is also approved for chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) — a complication that can occur after a stem cell transplant — in adults and children aged 1 year and older whose condition did not respond to at least one prior treatment.

See full Ibrutinib drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Grape

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

0Major
867Moderate
42Minor
1,920No known interaction
Moderate

867 interactions

Showing 60 of 867 moderate interactions — see all 867 on the Grape page.

Minor

42 interactions

No interaction 1,920 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 Grape and Ibrutinib Together: Common Questions

Can you take Grape 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 Grape and Ibrutinib?
Ibrutinib belongs to more than one drug category, and Grape 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 Grape 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.