Drug & supplement interaction

Levant Berry + Tofacitinib

Tofacitinib brand names: Xeljanz, Xeljanz XR.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Levant Berry and Tofacitinib 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

Levant Berry and Tofacitinib

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 Tofacitinib and Levant Berry 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.

Worth understanding: our licensed dataset holds no drug-interaction record for Levant Berry at all — not against Tofacitinib, and not against any other medication we track. This verdict therefore rests on the absence of any recorded data, not on research that looked at this combination and found nothing. We cannot rule an interaction out.

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.

Levant Berry safety at a glance

Levant Berry overall Avoid The berry contains picrotoxin, a potent toxin that can cause seizures and death.
Pregnancy Avoid Avoid completely; the plant is poisonous and unsafe.
Breastfeeding Likely Unsafe When used orally or topically; avoid using. 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 Tofacitinib and Levant Berry? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Levant Berry and Tofacitinib 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.

  • Headache reported in 7.3% of FDA reports for Tofacitinib Additional detail

    Levant Berry

    “Picrotoxin is a GI irritant and central nervous system stimulant (6). Mild poisoning can lead to headache, dizziness, nausea, coordination disturbances, depression, and spasms or twitching (18). Larger amounts can cause salivation, vomiting, purging, rapid shallow breathing, drowsiness, palpitations or bradycardia, tonic-clonic spasms, stupor, loss of consciousness, and death (6).”

    Levant Berry · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in cluster headache.

    2 sources cited
    1. 6. The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, MO: Wolters Kluwer Co., 1999.
    2. 18. Gruenwald J, Brendler T, Jaenicke C. PDR for Herbal Medicines. 1st ed. Montvale, NJ: Medical Economics Company, Inc., 1998.

    Tofacitinib

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

Reported for Levant Berry but not commonly for Tofacitinib: fainting, a fast or pounding heartbeat, a slow heartbeat and drowsiness.

Effects for Tofacitinib come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Levant Berry come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 185,980 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Tofacitinib 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

Levant Berry in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Lactation Likely Unsafe

When used orally or topically; 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 Tofacitinib

This page covers Levant Berry only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Tofacitinib page lists 184 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Grapefruit (major), St. John's Wort (major), Acacia Rigidula (moderate) and Active Hexose Correlated Compound (ahcc) (moderate).

By severity: 3 major · 143 moderate · 38 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Tofacitinib page

“Supplements deserve genuine care alongside tofacitinib (Xeljanz, Xeljanz XR), a medicine that deliberately dials down the immune system to control conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis. Most of the interactions on this page run through the liver enzymes that clear the drug, meaning an herb can push its blood level…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Tofacitinib interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 1 real supplement products containing Levant Berry, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Levant Berry. Even though Levant Berry itself has no known interaction with Tofacitinib, 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 Levant Berry and Tofacitinib 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 Levant Berry
Steady interest

#1,122 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Tofacitinib
Top half

#1,406 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 Levant Berry reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Levant Berry and Tofacitinib 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 Levant Berry

What is Levant Berry?

  • Historically as a fish poison (stunning fish)
  • Topical preparations for lice and skin parasites
  • Traditional remedies for epilepsy and convulsions
  • Old preparations for skin conditions
  • Source of the compound picrotoxin

Levant Berry (Anamirta cocculus) is a highly toxic plant fruit that contains picrotoxin, a powerful poison once used to stun fish and, in the past, as a crude medicine. It is dangerous and is not considered a safe dietary supplement; it should not be taken internally.

Anamirta cocculus · Menispermaceae · Dried ripe fruit (berry/seed) · Historically used as a crude dried berry; today rarely used and not recommended internally

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

Levant Berry: dosing

There is no established or recommended dose for Levant Berry, because it is toxic and not used as a safe supplement. We cannot provide a dose and strongly advise against taking it internally in any amount.If you encounter a product that lists this ingredient, do not use it without first checking with a pharmacist or doctor. A licensed health professional can help you choose safer, proven options.

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

Read the full Levant Berry monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Tofacitinib

What Is Tofacitinib Used For?

Brand names: Xeljanz, Xeljanz XR

  • Tofacitinib is used alone or with other medications to treat rheumatoid arthritis (condition in which the body attacks its own joints causing pain, swelling, and loss of function) in adults who are unable to take or did not respond to one or more tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor medication(s). It is also used to treat psoriatic arthritis (a condition that causes joint pain and swelling and scales on the skin) in adults who are unable to take or did not respond to or tolerate one or more TNF inhibitor medication(s). Tofacitinib is used to treat ulcerative colitis (a condition which causes swelling and sores in the lining of the colon [large intestine] and rectum) in adults who are unable to take or who did not respond to one or more TNF inhibitor medication(s). It is also used to treat polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (PJIA; a type of childhood arthritis that affects five or more joints during the first six months of the condition, causing pain, swelling, and loss of function) in children 2 years and older who are unable to take or who did not respond to one or more TNF inhibitor medication(s). Tofacitinib is in a class of medications called Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors. It works by decreasing the activity of the immune system.

See full Tofacitinib drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Levant Berry

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

0Major
0Moderate
0Minor
2,829No known interaction
No interaction 2,829 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Levant Berry References

The 2 references that drive our Levant Berry 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. The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, MO: Wolters Kluwer Co., 1999.
  2. Gruenwald J, Brendler T, Jaenicke C. PDR for Herbal Medicines. 1st ed. Montvale, NJ: Medical Economics Company, Inc., 1998.

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 Levant Berry and Tofacitinib Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Levant Berry with Tofacitinib?
We do not list a known interaction between Levant Berry and Tofacitinib. 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 Levant Berry and Tofacitinib 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.
Does Tofacitinib interact with any supplements?
Yes. Tofacitinib has documented interactions with 184 supplements in our database — Levant Berry is not one of them. The Tofacitinib 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 Tofacitinib and Levant Berry?

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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.