Drug & supplement interaction

Lychee + Tacrolimus

Tacrolimus brand names: Prograf (capsule), Prograf (injectable), Protopic, Prograf XL, Astagraf XL, and others.

Minor Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated September 2026
The bottom line Minor

Lychee has a minor interaction with Tacrolimus. Theoretically, lychee might reduce the effectiveness of immunosuppressant drugs.

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

Lychee and Tacrolimus

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

Minor

IMMUNOSUPPRESSANTS

Why this applies to Tacrolimus

Tacrolimus falls under IMMUNOSUPPRESSANTS — the group Lychee interacts with.

Theoretically, lychee might reduce the effectiveness of immunosuppressant drugs.
In vitro, flavonoids extracted from lychee show immunostimulant effects. So far, this effect has not been reported in humans.
Severity Minor 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 basic idea with lychee and your tacrolimus (Prograf). Tacrolimus works by calming down your immune system so it doesn't attack your transplanted organ. In lab dishes, certain plant compounds (flavonoids) from lychee seemed to give the immune system a little nudge in the opposite direction. The worry, in theory, is that this could work against what tacrolimus is trying to do.

I want to be clear about how weak this is. This has never actually been seen in people, it's only a lab observation, so I wouldn't lose sleep over enjoying lychee fruit. That said, tacrolimus is a narrow-margin drug where small shifts matter, and organ rejection is serious. Before using concentrated lychee extracts, please check with your transplant team or pharmacist first.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Zhao M, Yang B, Wang J, et al. Immunomodulatory and anticancer activities of flavonoids extracted from litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn) pericarp. Int Immunopharmacol 2007;7(2):162-6. PubMed

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

Lychee Also Interacts With Other Medications

Lychee has 86 moderate, 120 minor known drug interactions in our database — the Tacrolimus one above is one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 86 Minor 120 No known interaction 2,624 (incl. Tacrolimus)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Lychee

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Lychee or Tacrolimus

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

This page covers Lychee only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Tacrolimus page lists 202 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), American Hellebore (major), Arsenic (major), Asarabacca (major) and Cesium (major).

By severity: 11 major · 152 moderate · 39 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Tacrolimus page

“Tacrolimus (Prograf, Astagraf XL, Envarsus XR) keeps a transplanted organ from being rejected, and it works inside a narrow blood-level window, meaning even small shifts can invite rejection or toxicity. That makes these 202 supplement interactions worth real caution.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Tacrolimus interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 98 real supplement products containing Lychee, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Lychee. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Tacrolimus too, on top of Lychee — 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 Lychee and Tacrolimus 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 Lychee
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Tacrolimus
Top 25%

#400 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 Lychee

What is Lychee?

  • General nutrition and antioxidant support
  • Digestive complaints (traditional use)
  • Cough and sore throat (traditional use)
  • Blood sugar support (preliminary)
  • Weight and metabolic support (preliminary)

Lychee is a sweet tropical fruit that is nutritious and a source of vitamin C and antioxidant plant compounds. While the fruit is a healthy food for most people, supplement-strength extracts have only limited research behind specific health claims, and eating large amounts of unripe lychee on an empty stomach has been linked to dangerous low blood sugar in undernourished children. Talk to your pharmacist or doctor before using lychee extracts for any health condition.

Read the full Lychee monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Tacrolimus

What Is Tacrolimus Used For?

Brand names: Prograf (capsule), Prograf (injectable), Protopic, Prograf XL, Astagraf XL, Envarsus XR

Tacrolimus is prescribed to help prevent your body from rejecting a transplanted organ. It is used in adults who receive a kidney, liver, or heart transplant, and in children who receive a liver transplant. It is always used alongside other anti-rejection medicines.

Because tacrolimus works by dampening your immune system, it lowers the risk of your body attacking the new organ — but it also means you need to be watched closely for infections and other side effects throughout your treatment.

See full Tacrolimus drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Lychee

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

0Major
86Moderate
120Minor
2,623No known interaction
86 Moderate 120 Minor 2,623 No interaction
Moderate

86 interactions

Showing 60 of 86 moderate interactions — see all 86 on the Lychee page.

Minor

120 interactions

Showing 60 of 120 minor interactions — see all 120 on the Lychee page.

No interaction 2,623 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,623 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Lychee list.

See the full Lychee interactions page
See every supplement checked against Tacrolimus, ranked by severity
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

Keep exploring
Lychee monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place Tacrolimus supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against Tacrolimus, ranked by severity Tacrolimus drug information › The full plain-English guide to this medication Supplement interaction checker › Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z › Every drug we've checked against herbs & supplements Ask a pharmacist › Free, personal answer from our licensed team
Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Lychee and Tacrolimus Together: Common Questions

Can you take Lychee with Tacrolimus?
There is only a minor interaction, which is usually not serious. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
How serious is the Lychee and Tacrolimus interaction?
We rate it Minor. This interaction is generally not clinically significant, but it remains worth noting and discussing with your pharmacist.

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

Still Have a Question About Tacrolimus and Lychee?

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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.