Drug & supplement interaction

Horny Goat Weed + Sorafenib

Sorafenib brand name: Nexavar.

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

Sorafenib falls into 2 drug categories that Horny Goat Weed can interact with; the most serious is rated moderate. Theoretically, horny goat weed might increase the risk of bleeding.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityModerate
LikelihoodPossible
Interactions2
EvidenceD
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
Know someone taking this? Share
Facebook Post Reddit Email
On this page
Interaction report

Horny Goat Weed and Sorafenib

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

Why Are There 2 Interactions?

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

Moderate

ANTICOAGULANT/ANTIPLATELET DRUGS

1 of 2

Why this applies to Sorafenib

Sorafenib falls under ANTICOAGULANT/ANTIPLATELET DRUGS — the group Horny Goat Weed interacts with.

Theoretically, horny goat weed might increase the risk of bleeding.
In vitro research and animal research shows that horny goat weed can inhibit platelet aggregation and thrombus formation. This effect has 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 thing to keep an eye on with this pairing. Sorafenib (Nexavar) can already raise your bleeding risk on its own, and horny goat weed may add to that. In lab and animal studies, the herb appears to make platelets (the cells that help your blood clot) a little less sticky. Stack that on top of sorafenib, and in theory you could bruise more easily or have a harder time stopping bleeding from things like a cut, your gums, or a nosebleed.

That said, this effect has only been seen in test tubes and animals, not in people, so the real-world concern is uncertain. Still, because you're dealing with cancer treatment, please don't start horny goat weed without first checking with your oncologist or pharmacist.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Irfan M, Kwon TH, Lee DH, et al. Antiplatelet and Antithrombotic Effects of Epimedium koreanum Nakai. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. Apr 2021;2021:7071987. PubMed
Moderate

CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES

2 of 2

Sorafenib also falls under CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES.

Theoretically, horny goat weed might increase the effects and side effects of CYP3A4 substrates.
In vitro, horny goat weed extract inhibits CYP3A4 and suppresses CYP3A4 mRNA expression. This effect has 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 idea behind this pairing. Your body uses a liver enzyme called CYP3A4 to help clear sorafenib (Nexavar). In test-tube studies, horny goat weed seems to slow that enzyme down. If that same effect happened in people, sorafenib could build up a bit higher than expected, which might mean stronger side effects like hand-foot skin reactions, diarrhea, high blood pressure, fatigue, or rash.

I want to be honest, though: this is theoretical. It has only been seen in lab studies, not in actual patients, so we really don't know how much it matters in real life. Since sorafenib is a serious cancer medicine, please don't add this supplement without first checking with your oncologist or pharmacist.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Li K, Yu XH, Maskey AR, et al. Cytochrome P450 3A4 suppression by epimedium and active compound kaempferol leads to synergistic anti-inflammatory effect with corticosteroid. Front Pharmacol 2023;13:1042756. 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

Horny Goat Weed Also Interacts With Other Medications

Horny Goat Weed has 962 moderate known drug interactions in our database — the Sorafenib one above is among them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 962 No known interaction 1,868 (incl. Sorafenib)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Horny Goat Weed

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Horny Goat Weed or Sorafenib

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

This page covers Horny Goat Weed only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Sorafenib page lists 285 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 · 241 moderate · 39 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Sorafenib page

“If you're on sorafenib (Nexavar) for cancer, be genuinely careful here, and learn the five major-rated entries first. Most of the 285 ingredients listed either have blood-thinning effects that stack onto sorafenib's bleeding risk (more than 200 do) or affect CYP3A4, the liver enzyme that clears the drug, pushing its level too high or t…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Sorafenib interaction page

One more smart check

Taking Horny Goat Weed as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 183 real supplement products containing Horny Goat Weed, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Horny Goat Weed. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Sorafenib too, on top of Horny Goat Weed — 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 Horny Goat Weed and Sorafenib 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 Horny Goat Weed
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Sorafenib
Steady interest

#2,060 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 Horny Goat Weed

What is Horny Goat Weed?

Horny Goat Weed
  • Erectile dysfunction
  • Low libido
  • Fatigue and low energy
  • Bone health
  • Joint and menopausal symptoms
  • General 'vitality' or performance

Horny goat weed (Epimedium) is a traditional Chinese herb most often marketed for low libido and erectile problems, but solid human evidence for these uses is lacking. While short-term use seems generally tolerated by some people, quality and safety are not well studied, so talk to your pharmacist or doctor before trying it—especially if you have heart problems or take other medicines.

Read the full Horny Goat Weed monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Sorafenib

What Is Sorafenib Used For?

Brand name: Nexavar

Sorafenib tablets are approved to treat three types of cancer. The first is unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) — liver cancer that cannot be removed with surgery. The second is advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) — kidney cancer that has spread or progressed. Both the brand Nexavar and generic sorafenib tablets are approved for these two uses.

The third use is for locally recurrent or metastatic, progressive differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) — thyroid cancer that has spread or worsened and no longer responds to radioactive iodine treatment. Nexavar and sorafenib tablets are both approved for this use as well.

See full Sorafenib drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Horny Goat Weed

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

0Major
962Moderate
0Minor
1,867No known interaction
962 Moderate 1,867 No interaction
Moderate

962 interactions

Showing 60 of 962 moderate interactions — see all 962 on the Horny Goat Weed page.

No interaction 1,867 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 1,867 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Horny Goat Weed list.

See the full Horny Goat Weed interactions page
See every supplement checked against Sorafenib, 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
Horny Goat Weed monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place Sorafenib supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against Sorafenib, ranked by severity Sorafenib 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 Horny Goat Weed and Sorafenib Together: Common Questions

Can you take Horny Goat Weed with Sorafenib?
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 Horny Goat Weed and Sorafenib?
Sorafenib belongs to more than one drug category, and Horny Goat Weed 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 Horny Goat Weed and Sorafenib 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 Sorafenib and Horny Goat Weed?

Our pharmacists answer your medication & supplement questions — free.

Ask a pharmacist

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.