Drug & supplement interaction

Lime + Avapritinib

Avapritinib brand name: Ayvakit.

Moderate Interaction
The bottom line Moderate

Lime has a moderate interaction with Avapritinib. Animal research shows that phenolics in lime juice inhibit cytochrome P450 3A4.

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

Lime and Avapritinib

Here is the interaction we found between these two, with the evidence behind it.

Moderate

CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES

Why this applies to Avapritinib

Avapritinib falls under CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES — the group Lime interacts with.

Animal research shows that phenolics in lime juice inhibit cytochrome P450 3A4. This has been demonstrated in rats treated with sildenafil, a CYP3A4 substrate, and high doses of lime juice.
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 gist for Ayvakit (avapritinib): your body relies on a liver enzyme called CYP3A4 to break this medication down. Lab work in rats suggests certain plant compounds in lime juice can slow that same enzyme. If that holds true in people, your body would clear avapritinib a little more slowly, letting levels creep up. With this drug that could mean more of its known side effects, like swelling, tiredness, nausea, low blood counts, or changes in thinking and memory.

Keep this in perspective. The evidence here is only animal-based, and it took high doses of lime juice. A squeeze of lime in your water or on your food is very unlikely to matter. Before using concentrated lime products, just check with your oncology team or pharmacist.

References
  1. Bailey DG, Dresser GK, Bend JR. Bergamottin, lime juice, and red wine as inhibitors of cytochrome P450 3A4 activity: comparison with grapefruit juice. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2003;73:529-37. PubMed
  2. Ademosun AO, Mohammed A, Oboh G, Ajeigbe OF. Influence of lemon (Citrus limon) and lime (Citrus aurantifolia) juices on the erectogenic properties of sildenafil in rats with L-NAME-induced erectile dysfunction. J Food Biochem 2022;46(2):e14074.

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

Lime Also Interacts With Other Medications

Lime has 885 moderate known drug interactions in our database — the Avapritinib one above is one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Lime

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

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Avapritinib

This page covers Lime only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Avapritinib page lists 138 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 Adrafinil (moderate).

By severity: 3 major · 94 moderate · 41 minor.

Open the Avapritinib interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 322 real supplement products containing Lime, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Lime. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Avapritinib too, on top of Lime — 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 Lime and Avapritinib 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 Lime
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Avapritinib
Steady interest

#2,330 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 Lime

What is Lime?

Lime
  • Source of vitamin C
  • Digestive upset
  • Skin care
  • Mood and aromatherapy
  • Flavoring and food preservation

Lime is a common citrus fruit and a good natural source of vitamin C and plant antioxidants. As a food it is generally safe and enjoyed by most people, but evidence that lime treats any specific health condition is limited. Use the essential oil with care, and check with your pharmacist or doctor before using concentrated lime products for health reasons.

Read the full Lime monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Avapritinib

What Is Avapritinib Used For?

Brand name: Ayvakit

Ayvakit (avapritinib) is used to treat adults with unresectable (cannot be surgically removed) or metastatic (spread to other parts of the body) gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) — but only in patients whose tumor has a specific genetic change called a PDGFRA exon 18 mutation, including the D842V mutation. A test is needed to confirm this mutation before starting treatment.

Ayvakit is also used to treat advanced systemic mastocytosis (AdvSM) — a serious condition where too many mast cells build up in the body — including its subtypes: aggressive systemic mastocytosis (ASM), systemic mastocytosis with an associated blood cancer (SM-AHN), and mast cell leukemia (MCL). It is also approved for indolent systemic mastocytosis (ISM), a less aggressive form. Ayvakit is not recommended for patients with AdvSM or ISM who have very low platelet counts (below 50 × 10⁹/L).

See full Avapritinib drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Lime

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

0Major
885Moderate
0Minor
1,944No known interaction
Moderate

885 interactions

Showing 60 of 885 moderate interactions — see all 885 on the Lime page.

No interaction 1,944 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 Lime and Avapritinib Together: Common Questions

Can you take Lime with Avapritinib?
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.
How serious is the Lime and Avapritinib 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.