Passion Flower - Actemra (Tocilizumab) Interaction

Interaction Details

Pharmacist Analysis

Passionflower is not known to have many clinically significant drug interactions.

Nevertheless, it has been shown to have sedative effects, which can be additive when used in conjunction with sedative medications (e.g., Benadryl, benzodiazepines, opioids, etc...).

Therefore, we do list interactions between Passionflower and CNS (central nervous system) depressants or other drugs with strong sedative effects.

Additionally, certain constituents of Passionflower (such as apigenin and vitexin) may inhibit certain drug transports, specifically OATP2B1 and OATP1A2.

These are responsible for the uptake of certain drugs and other compounds into the body.

As Passionflower can inhibit these transports, it is possible that it might reduce the bioavailability of drugs that are substrates for these transporters but studies are far from conclusive on the matter.

There is no known drug interaction between Passionflower and the drug in question here, however.

As always, be sure to speak with your doctor before making any changes to your medication regimen.

Tocilizumab Overview

• Tocilizumab injection is used alone or in combination with other medications to relieve the symptoms of certain types of arthritis and other conditions including:

  • rheumatoid arthritis (a condition in which the body attacks its own joints, causing pain, swelling, and loss of function) in adults who have not been helped by other disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs),

  • giant cell arteritis (a condition that causes swelling of blood vessels, especially in the scalp and head) in adults,

  • systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD; also known as scleroderma-associated ILD: a lung disease that involves scarring of the lungs) in adults,

  • 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 of age or older.

  • systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA; a condition in children that causes inflammation in different areas of the body, causing fever, joint pain and swelling, loss of function, and delays in growth and development) in children 2 years of age or older,

  • cytokine release syndrome (a severe and possibly life-threatening reaction) in adults and children 2 years of age or older after receiving certain immunotherapy infusions.

• Tocilizumab injection is in a class of medications called interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor inhibitors. It works by blocking the activity of interleukin-6, a substance in the body that causes inflammation.

Passion Flower - More Interactions

Passion Flower interacts with 814 drugs

Interaction Rating Key

These severity listings are for informational use only. Never start, stop or otherwise change your therapy before speaking with your provider.