Drug & supplement interaction

Lemongrass + Palifermin

Palifermin brand name: Kepivance.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Lemongrass 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.

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Interaction report

Lemongrass 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 Lemongrass 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.

Lemongrass safety at a glance

Lemongrass overall Use caution Likely safe in food amounts, but concentrated extracts and the essential oil have less safety data.
Pregnancy Likely Unsafe When used orally. Lemongrass seems to have uterine and menstrual flow stimulating effects; avoid using. Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Use caution Not enough reliable data; avoid medicinal amounts and stick to occasional food use.

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 Lemongrass? 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. Lemongrass has documented interactions with 3 drug classes — the most serious being cytochrome p450 3a4 (cyp3a4) substrates (moderate), glucuronidated drugs (moderate) and pentobarbital (nembutal) (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

Lemongrass Does Interact With Other Medications

Lemongrass has 708 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 Lemongrass

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

What to actually watch for

What Palifermin’s Own FDA Label Lists

This is not an interaction — none of it involves Lemongrass. These are the most notable effects listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of Palifermin’s own FDA label, for the medication by itself. Knowing the drug’s own list makes it easier to work out the likely cause if something new turns up while you take both. One of them is worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • A higher chance of infection Worth acting on mentioned in 6.2% of FDA reports for Palifermin
  • Fever mentioned in 16.0% of FDA reports for Palifermin
  • Numbness or tingling
  • Joint pain
  • A skin rash mentioned in 10.1% of FDA reports for Palifermin
  • Itching
  • Swelling

From the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Palifermin. Read the label on DailyMed › 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. Lemongrass’s licensed record lists no adverse effects our clinical vocabulary could match, so there is no Lemongrass side to compare — that is a limit of the record, not a statement that Lemongrass has no side effects.

Special populations

Lemongrass in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy Likely Unsafe

When used orally. Lemongrass seems to have uterine and menstrual flow stimulating effects; avoid using.

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

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Palifermin

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

We hold 417 real supplement products containing Lemongrass, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Lemongrass. Even though Lemongrass 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 Lemongrass 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 Lemongrass
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Palifermin
Steady interest

#2,097 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 Lemongrass reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Lemongrass 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 Lemongrass

What is Lemongrass?

Lemongrass
  • Digestive upset
  • Anxiety and stress
  • Antimicrobial/antifungal
  • Insect repellent
  • Flavoring in food and drinks

Lemongrass is a fragrant tropical grass widely used as a cooking herb, a tea, and an aromatherapy oil. It is generally considered safe in the small amounts used in food, but most of its claimed health benefits come from laboratory or animal studies rather than strong human research. Talk with your pharmacist or doctor before using concentrated supplements or the essential oil, especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Cymbopogon citratus · Poaceae · Leaves, stalks, and essential oil · Tea, fresh or dried herb, capsules, essential oil, topical preparations

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

Lemongrass: dosing

There is no official standardized dose for lemongrass. The amount used depends on the form, such as tea, capsule, or essential oil.For tea, people commonly steep a small amount of dried or fresh leaves in hot water. For supplements, follow the directions on the product label, since strength varies from brand to brand.

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

Read the full Lemongrass 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 & Lemongrass

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

0Major
708Moderate
0Minor
2,121No known interaction
Moderate

708 interactions

Showing 60 of 708 moderate interactions — see all 708 on the Lemongrass page.

No interaction 2,121 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Lemongrass References

The 2 references that drive our Lemongrass 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. McGuffin M, Hobbs C, Upton R, Goldberg A, eds. American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, LLC 1997.
  2. Li CC, Yu HF, Chang CH, Liu YT, Yao HT. Effects of lemongrass oil and citral on hepatic drug-metabolizing enzymes, oxidative stress, and acetaminophen toxicity in rats. J Food Drug Anal 2018;26(1):432-8. 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 Lemongrass and Palifermin Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Lemongrass with Palifermin?
We do not list a known interaction between Lemongrass 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.
How was the Lemongrass and Palifermin combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Palifermin is filed under 1 classification, and Lemongrass has documented interactions with 3 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 Lemongrass interact with any other medications?
Yes. Lemongrass has 708 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 — Lemongrass 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 Lemongrass?

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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.