Drug & supplement interaction

Japanese Apricot + Ribavirin

Ribavirin brand names: Rebetol, Copegus, Ribasphere, Moderiba.

No Known Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 20, 2026
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Japanese Apricot and Ribavirin 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 label for Ribavirin states a food rule worth keeping to, and 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

Japanese Apricot and Ribavirin

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 Ribavirin and Japanese Apricot 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.

Japanese Apricot safety at a glance

Japanese Apricot overall Use caution Generally considered safe as a food, but concentrated supplement evidence is limited and quality varies.
Pregnancy Use caution Food amounts are likely fine, but concentrated extracts have not been well studied; use caution and ask your doctor.
Breastfeeding Use caution Little safety data exists for supplement-strength products, so caution is advised.

Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Still wondering about combining Ribavirin and Japanese Apricot? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Ribavirin

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Ribavirin is filed under a single classification — oral drugs. Japanese Apricot has documented interactions with 2 drug classes — the most serious being anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs (moderate) and antidiabetes drugs (moderate) — and none of Ribavirin’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

Japanese Apricot Does Interact With Other Medications

Japanese Apricot has 208 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Ribavirin isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 208 No known interaction 2,622 (incl. Ribavirin)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Japanese Apricot

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Japanese Apricot and Ribavirin May Share a Side Effect

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.

  • Constipation Additional detail

    Japanese Apricot

    “Orally, Japanese apricot dried fruit extract seems to be well tolerated. Side effects reported in clinical research include gastric intolerance. Diluted Japanese apricot juice concentrate may cause constipation. Allergies to Japanese apricot are rare. The raw fruit of Japanese apricot is thought to be toxic due to the cyanogenic glycosides prunasin and amygdalin.”

    Japanese Apricot · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in allergic rhinitis (hay fever).

    4 sources cited
    1. 100027. Beretta A, Accinni R, Dellanoce C, Tonini A, Cardot JM, Bussiére A. Efficacy of a standardized extract of Prunus mume in liver protection and redox homeostasis: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Phytother Res. 2016;30(6):949-55.
    2. 100029. Nakajima S, Fujita K, Inoue Y, Nishio M, Seto Y. Effect of the folk remedy, Bainiku-ekisu, a concentrate of Prunus mume juice, on Helicobacter pylori infection in humans. Helicobacter. 2006;11(6):589-91.
    3. 100028. Iijima S, Ito M, Makabe K, Murakami Y, Yokooji T, Matsuo H. Case of food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis due to Japanese apricot and peach: Detection of causative antigens. J Dermatol. 2015;42(9):916-7. PubMed
    4. 13198. Chuda Y, Ono H, Ohnishi-Kameyama M, et al. Mumefural, citric acid derivative improving blood fluidity from fruit-juice concentrate of Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc).J Agric Food Chem 1999;47:828-31. .

    “Orally, Japanese apricot dried fruit extract 300 mg daily has been reported to cause gastric intolerance in one patient in one clinical study. In other clinical research, dilute Japanese apricot juice concentrate has been reported to cause constipation in one patient.”

    Japanese Apricot · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in constipation.

    2 sources cited
    1. 100027. Beretta A, Accinni R, Dellanoce C, Tonini A, Cardot JM, Bussiére A. Efficacy of a standardized extract of Prunus mume in liver protection and redox homeostasis: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Phytother Res. 2016;30(6):949-55.
    2. 100029. Nakajima S, Fujita K, Inoue Y, Nishio M, Seto Y. Effect of the folk remedy, Bainiku-ekisu, a concentrate of Prunus mume juice, on Helicobacter pylori infection in humans. Helicobacter. 2006;11(6):589-91.

    Ribavirin

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

Effects for Ribavirin come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Japanese Apricot come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 63,877 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Ribavirin 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.

How to take them

Some Ribavirin Products Have a Food Rule — Japanese Apricot Should Not Break It

At least one FDA label for a product containing Ribavirin says to take it with food. If you take Japanese Apricot on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate — and take Ribavirin with a meal where the label says to.

This may not be true of your version. Food instructions belong to the product, not the ingredient: two Ribavirin products can carry different directions, and extended-release forms often differ from immediate-release ones. The label we read is quoted below — check the directions on your own box or bottle, or ask your pharmacist, for how to take the exact product you were given.

Ribavirin capsules should be taken with food [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3) ].

From the Dosage and Administration section of the FDA label we read for Ribavirin — where that label names a specific product, the instruction is that product's. Read the label on DailyMed ›

A food rule is not an interaction — it is about how much of the medicine you absorb. The directions that came with your own product, and your pharmacist, outrank anything on this page.

Overlapping uses

What Ribavirin Is Prescribed For, and What Japanese Apricot Has Been Studied For

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

Ribavirin is prescribed for: Ribavirin comes in different forms for different uses. Ribavirin capsules are used in combination with interferon alfa-2b (pegylated or non-pegylated) to treat chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in patients 3 years and older with compensated liver disease. Ribavirin tablets are used in combination with PEGASYS® (peginterferon alfa-2a) to treat chronic hepatitis C in patients 5 years and older with compensated liver disease who have not previously been treated with interferon — including adults who also have HIV. Ribavirin for inhalation solution is a separate product used to treat hospitalized infants and young children with severe lower respiratory tract infections caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Read the rest of what Ribavirin is prescribed for

Ribavirin must never be used alone to treat hepatitis C — it only works as part of combination therapy. Only the most severe RSV infections requiring hospitalization should be treated with the inhaled form; mild RSV illness in children does not require this treatment.

Japanese Apricot has been studied for:

  • Hepatitis C studied, not established Japanese Apricot has been studied for this. Natural Medicines rates the evidence: Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Read what the research shows

    Japanese Apricot for hepatitis c

    Preliminary clinical research in patients with hepatitis C shows that taking Japanese apricot extract (Misatol ME, AdaBio Co. Ltd.) 6.5 grams twice daily for 12 weeks reduces levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) by 31% and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) by 29% when compared with baseline. It is unclear if taking if this product affects viral load or the progression of chronic liver disease and cirrhosis.

    1 source cited
    1. 100023. Hokari A, Ishikawa T, Tajiri H, et al. Efficacy of MK615 for the treatment of patients with liver disorders. World J Gastroenterol. 2012;18(31):4118-26. PubMed

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 Ribavirin on your own; if you are taking Japanese Apricot for the same health topic, tell your prescriber, especially if the medicine is being adjusted to a target.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Ribavirin

This page covers Japanese Apricot only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Ribavirin 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 Ribavirin page

“Nearly every entry on this ribavirin page pulls the same lever, changing how much of the drug reaches your bloodstream, and that deserves genuine care here. Ribavirin (Rebetol, Copegus) is an antiviral for hepatitis C, and treatment succeeds only when levels stay steady enough to keep the virus in check, so anything that quietly lowers…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Ribavirin interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 12 real supplement products containing Japanese Apricot, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Japanese Apricot. Even though Japanese Apricot itself has no known interaction with Ribavirin, 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 Japanese Apricot and Ribavirin 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 Japanese Apricot
Steady interest

#1,118 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Ribavirin
Top 25%

#413 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 Japanese Apricot reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Japanese Apricot and Ribavirin 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 Japanese Apricot

What is Japanese Apricot?

  • Digestive upset
  • Fatigue and general wellness
  • Sore throat and cough
  • Antimicrobial support
  • Liver and detox support (traditional)

Japanese Apricot (Prunus mume) is a tart fruit used widely in East Asian foods and traditional medicine, often as pickled umeboshi or a concentrated extract. It has a long history of culinary and folk use, but high-quality human studies are limited, so most health claims remain unproven. The processed fruit is generally well tolerated as a food, but talk to a pharmacist or doctor before using concentrated supplements.

Prunus mume · Rosaceae · Fruit (often unripe, smoked, or processed into extracts) · Pickled fruit (umeboshi), concentrated fruit extract, paste, juice, syrup, capsules, tea

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

Japanese Apricot: dosing

There is no well-established standard dose for Japanese Apricot supplements. The amount varies widely depending on the form, whether it is a food (like umeboshi), a syrup, a paste, or a concentrated extract.The safest approach is to follow the directions on the product label and not exceed the recommended amount.

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

Read the full Japanese Apricot monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Ribavirin

What Is Ribavirin Used For?

Brand names: Rebetol, Copegus, Ribasphere, Moderiba

Ribavirin comes in different forms for different uses. Ribavirin capsules are used in combination with interferon alfa-2b (pegylated or non-pegylated) to treat chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in patients 3 years and older with compensated liver disease. Ribavirin tablets are used in combination with PEGASYS® (peginterferon alfa-2a) to treat chronic hepatitis C in patients 5 years and older with compensated liver disease who have not previously been treated with interferon — including adults who also have HIV. Ribavirin for inhalation solution is a separate product used to treat hospitalized infants and young children with severe lower respiratory tract infections caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Ribavirin must never be used alone to treat hepatitis C — it only works as part of combination therapy. Only the most severe RSV infections requiring hospitalization should be treated with the inhaled form; mild RSV illness in children does not require this treatment.

See full Ribavirin drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Japanese Apricot

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

0Major
208Moderate
0Minor
2,621No known interaction
208 Moderate 2,621 No interaction
Moderate

208 interactions

Showing 60 of 208 moderate interactions — see all 208 on the Japanese Apricot page.

No interaction 2,621 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,621 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Japanese Apricot list.

See the full Japanese Apricot interactions page
See every supplement checked against Ribavirin, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Japanese Apricot References

The 10 references that drive our Japanese Apricot 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. Chuda Y, Ono H, Ohnishi-Kameyama M, et al. Mumefural, citric acid derivative improving blood fluidity from fruit-juice concentrate of Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc).J Agric Food Chem 1999;47:828-31. .
  2. Matsuda H, Morikawa T, Ishiwada T, et al. Medicinal flowers. VIII. Radical scavenging constituents from the flowers of Prunus mume: structure of prunose III. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) 2003;51:440-3.. PubMed
  3. Maekita T, Kato J, Enomoto S, et al. Japanese apricot improves symptoms of gastrointestinal dysmotility associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease. World J Gastroenterol. 2015;21(26):8170-7. PubMed
  4. Takemura S, Yoshimasu K, Fukumoto J, et al. Safety and adherence of Umezu polyphenols in the Japanese plum (Prunus mume) in a 12-week double-blind randomized placebo-controlled pilot trial to evaluate antihypertensive effects. Environ Health Prev Med. 2 PubMed
  5. Shin EJ, Hur HJ, Sung MJ, et al. Ethanol extract of the Prunus mume fruits stimulates glucose uptake by regulating PPAR-γ in C2C12 myotubes and ameliorates glucose intolerance and fat accumulation in mice fed a high-fat diet. Food Chem. 2013;141(4):
  6. Hokari A, Ishikawa T, Tajiri H, et al. Efficacy of MK615 for the treatment of patients with liver disorders. World J Gastroenterol. 2012;18(31):4118-26. PubMed
  7. Enomoto S, Yanaoka K, Utsunomiya H, et al. Inhibitory effects of Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Siebold et Zucc.; Ume) on Helicobacter pylori-related chronic gastritis. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2010;64(7):714-9. PubMed
  8. Beretta A, Accinni R, Dellanoce C, Tonini A, Cardot JM, Bussiére A. Efficacy of a standardized extract of Prunus mume in liver protection and redox homeostasis: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Phytother Res. 2016;30(6):949-55.
  9. Iijima S, Ito M, Makabe K, Murakami Y, Yokooji T, Matsuo H. Case of food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis due to Japanese apricot and peach: Detection of causative antigens. J Dermatol. 2015;42(9):916-7. PubMed
  10. Nakajima S, Fujita K, Inoue Y, Nishio M, Seto Y. Effect of the folk remedy, Bainiku-ekisu, a concentrate of Prunus mume juice, on Helicobacter pylori infection in humans. Helicobacter. 2006;11(6):589-91.

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 Japanese Apricot and Ribavirin Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Japanese Apricot with Ribavirin?
We do not list a known interaction between Japanese Apricot and Ribavirin. 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 Japanese Apricot and Ribavirin have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to one 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.
Should I take Japanese Apricot and Ribavirin at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Ribavirin says to take it with food. If you take Japanese Apricot on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate and take Ribavirin with a meal where the label says to. Food instructions belong to the product rather than the ingredient — two Ribavirin products can differ — so check the directions on your own box. This is about absorption, not an interaction.
Are Japanese Apricot and Ribavirin 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 Japanese Apricot in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Ribavirin is being adjusted to a target.
How was the Japanese Apricot and Ribavirin combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Ribavirin is filed under 1 classification, and Japanese Apricot has documented interactions with 2 drug classes — none of Ribavirin'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 Japanese Apricot interact with any other medications?
Yes. Japanese Apricot has 208 documented drug interactions in our database — Ribavirin 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 Ribavirin interact with any supplements?
Yes. Ribavirin has documented interactions with 17 supplements in our database — Japanese Apricot is not one of them. The Ribavirin interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

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

Where next

Keep Exploring

Japanese Apricot monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Ribavirin drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Ribavirin supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Ribavirin, ranked by severity Supplement interaction checker Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z Every drug we’ve checked against herbs & supplements References The 10 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Ribavirin and Japanese Apricot?

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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.