Drug & supplement interaction

Lutein + Gemcitabine

Gemcitabine brand name: Gemzar.

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 Lutein and Gemcitabine 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.

Know someone taking this? Share
Facebook Post Reddit Email
On this page
Interaction report

Lutein and Gemcitabine

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 Gemcitabine and Lutein 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 Lutein at all — not against Gemcitabine, 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.

Lutein safety at a glance

Lutein overall Generally safe Lutein from foods and typical supplement doses is generally considered safe for most adults.
Pregnancy Likely Safe When used orally and appropriately in amounts found in foods. The high end of dietary lutein intake ranges from 6.9-11.7 mg/day. Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Likely Safe When used orally and appropriately in amounts found in foods. The high end of dietary lutein intake ranges from 6.9-11.7 mg/day. 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 Gemcitabine and Lutein? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
What to actually watch for

What Gemcitabine’s Own FDA Label Lists

This is not an interaction — none of it involves Lutein. These are the most notable effects listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of Gemcitabine’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. 10 of them are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • A stroke or mini-stroke Worth acting on
  • A heart attack Worth acting on
  • A low platelet count Worth acting on mentioned in 7.0% of FDA reports for Gemcitabine
  • An irregular heartbeat Worth acting on
  • Anemia Worth acting on mentioned in 5.8% of FDA reports for Gemcitabine
  • A low white blood cell count Worth acting on mentioned in 6.2% of FDA reports for Gemcitabine
  • Kidney problems Worth acting on
  • Raised blood pressure Worth acting on
  • Shortness of breath Worth acting on
  • Liver problems Worth acting on

Showing the 10 most notable of 16 label-listed effects — ranked by how unusual each one is across medicines generally, with serious effects weighted up.

From the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Gemcitabine. Read the label on DailyMed › Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 53,020 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Gemcitabine that mention that effect — a reporting proportion, not an incidence rate and not evidence the drug caused it. Lutein’s licensed record lists no adverse effects our clinical vocabulary could match, so there is no Lutein side to compare — that is a limit of the record, not a statement that Lutein has no side effects.

Special populations

Lutein in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy And Lactation Likely Safe

When used orally and appropriately in amounts found in foods. The high end of dietary lutein intake ranges from 6.9-11.7 mg/day.

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

Overlapping uses

What Gemcitabine Is Prescribed For, and What Lutein Has Been Studied For

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

Gemcitabine is prescribed for: Gemcitabine Injection (available as Avgemsi, Gemcitabine, and Infugem) is used to treat several types of cancer. It is given in combination with carboplatin for advanced ovarian cancer that has returned at least 6 months after platinum-based treatment, and in combination with paclitaxel as a first-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer after prior chemotherapy with an anthracycline (a specific class of chemo drug). It is also given in combination with cisplatin for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that cannot be removed surgically or has spread. For pancreatic cancer that is locally advanced or has spread, it is used as a single agent — including in patients who have already been treated with fluorouracil.

Lutein has been studied for:

  • Breast cancer studied, not established Lutein has been studied for this. Natural Medicines rates the evidence: Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Read what the research shows

    Lutein for breast cancer

    It is unclear if oral lutein is beneficial for breast cancer prevention.

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Lutein or Gemcitabine

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

This page covers Lutein only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Gemcitabine page lists 39 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Beer (major), Siberian Cocklebur (major), Wine (major), Ashwagandha (moderate) and Black Cohosh (moderate).

By severity: 3 major · 35 moderate · 1 minor.

Open the Gemcitabine interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 6,588 real supplement products containing Lutein, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Lutein. Even though Lutein itself has no known interaction with Gemcitabine, 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 Lutein and Gemcitabine 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 Lutein
Top 5%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Gemcitabine
Steady interest

#2,588 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 Lutein reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Lutein and Gemcitabine records this page draws on were last updated July 10, 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 Lutein

What is Lutein?

  • Eye health
  • Age-related macular degeneration
  • Cataract prevention
  • Reducing eye strain from screens
  • General antioxidant support

Lutein is a plant-based antioxidant pigment that concentrates in the eye, and the best evidence suggests it (often combined with zeaxanthin) may help slow progression of age-related macular degeneration in certain people. For most other eye and health claims, the evidence is limited or mixed. It is generally well tolerated, but talk to your pharmacist or doctor before starting it, especially during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Pigment extracted from plants such as marigold flowers (Tagetes erecta) and found in leafy greens · Capsules, softgels, tablets, combination eye-health supplements, gummies

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

Lutein: dosing

There is no single official dose of lutein for supplements. Amounts used in eye-health research have varied, and lutein is often combined with zeaxanthin in eye formulas.The best approach is to follow the directions on the product label and not take more than recommended.

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

Read the full Lutein monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Gemcitabine Injection

What Is Gemcitabine Injection Used For?

Brand name: Gemzar

Gemcitabine Injection (available as Avgemsi, Gemcitabine, and Infugem) is used to treat several types of cancer. It is given in combination with carboplatin for advanced ovarian cancer that has returned at least 6 months after platinum-based treatment, and in combination with paclitaxel as a first-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer after prior chemotherapy with an anthracycline (a specific class of chemo drug).

It is also given in combination with cisplatin for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that cannot be removed surgically or has spread. For pancreatic cancer that is locally advanced or has spread, it is used as a single agent — including in patients who have already been treated with fluorouracil.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Gemcitabine

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (53,020 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Disease progression 4,850 reports
Thrombocytopenia 3,706 reports
Neutropenia 3,295 reports
Anemia 3,084 reports
Malignant neoplasm progression 2,912 reports
See full Gemcitabine Injection drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Lutein

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Lutein — 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
2,829 No interaction
No interaction 2,829 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,829 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Lutein list.

See the full Lutein interactions page
See every supplement checked against Gemcitabine, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Lutein References

The 2 references that drive our Lutein 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. Brown L, Rimm EB, Seddon JM, et al. A prospective study of carotenoid intake and risk of cataract extraction in US men. Am J Clin Nutr 1999;70:517-24. PubMed
  2. Chasan-Taber L, Willett WC, Seddon JM, et al. A prospective study of carotenoid and vitamin A intakes and risk of cataract extraction in US women. Am J Clin Nutr 1999;70:509-16. 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 Lutein and Gemcitabine Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Lutein with Gemcitabine?
We do not list a known interaction between Lutein and Gemcitabine. 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.
Are Lutein and Gemcitabine 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 Lutein in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Gemcitabine is being adjusted to a target.
Does Gemcitabine interact with any supplements?
Yes. Gemcitabine has documented interactions with 39 supplements in our database — Lutein is not one of them. The Gemcitabine 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

Lutein monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Gemcitabine Injection drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Gemcitabine supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Gemcitabine, 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 2 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Gemcitabine and Lutein?

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.