Drug & supplement interaction

Plum + Ibuprofen

Ibuprofen brand names: Motrin, Children's Motrin, Advil, Children's Advil, Fenbid Forte Gel, and others.

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

Plum has a moderate interaction with Ibuprofen. Theoretically, plum juice might have antiplatelet effects.

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

Plum and Ibuprofen

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

Moderate

ANTICOAGULANT/ANTIPLATELET DRUGS

Why this applies to Ibuprofen

Ibuprofen falls under ANTICOAGULANT/ANTIPLATELET DRUGS — the group Plum interacts with.

Theoretically, plum juice might have antiplatelet effects.
Consuming plum juice while taking anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs might increase the risk of bruising and bleeding. In healthy volunteers, drinking plum juice 200 mL daily for 28 days prolonged clotting time and inhibited platelet aggregation.
Severity Moderate Likelihood Possible Evidence B

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 deal with plums and ibuprofen. Ibuprofen is an NSAID, and one of its known quirks is that it already makes your platelets a little less sticky, which is why it can raise the risk of bruising and stomach bleeding on its own. Some research found that drinking plum juice (about 200 mL daily) made blood take longer to clot and slowed platelet clumping too. So stacking the two together could add up and make bruising or bleeding a bit more likely.

This is still fairly mild and based on limited evidence, and eating a few plums or prunes with a meal is very unlikely to cause a problem. The bigger concern would be large daily amounts of plum juice or concentrated supplements alongside regular ibuprofen. If you use ibuprofen often, it's worth a quick chat with your pharmacist or doctor.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Santhakumar AB, Kundur AR, Fanning K, Netzel M, Stanley R, Singh I. Consumption of anthocyanin-rich Queen Garnet plum juice reduces platelet activation related thrombogenesis in healthy volunteers. J. Functional Foods. 2015;12:11-22. DOI
  2. Santhakumar AB, Kundur AR, Sabapathy S, Stanley R, Singh I. The potential of anthocyanin-rich Queen Garnet plum juice supplementation in alleviating thrombotic risk under induced oxidative stress conditions. J. Functional Foods. 2015;14:747-57. DOI

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

Plum Also Interacts With Other Medications

Plum has 121 moderate known drug interactions in our database — the Ibuprofen one above is one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 121 No known interaction 2,709 (incl. Ibuprofen)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Plum

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Plum or Ibuprofen

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

This page covers Plum only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Ibuprofen page lists 286 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Asarabacca (major), Beer (major), Danshen (major) and Piracetam (major).

By severity: 7 major · 243 moderate · 36 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Ibuprofen page

“Most people treat ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) as an everyday pain reliever, which is exactly why this list of 286 interacting supplements deserves real attention rather than a shrug. The dominant pattern by far is bleeding: 202 of these ingredients can add to the bleeding and stomach irritation ibuprofen already causes, and the seven maj…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Ibuprofen interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 1,682 real supplement products containing Plum, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Plum. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Ibuprofen too, on top of Plum — 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 Plum and Ibuprofen 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 Plum
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Ibuprofen
Top 1%

#19 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 Plum

What is Plum?

  • Constipation
  • Digestive health
  • Bone health support
  • Antioxidant source
  • General nutrition

Plums and their dried form (prunes) are common, nutritious foods that are best known for helping relieve constipation thanks to their fiber and sorbitol content. They are generally safe as food, but eating large amounts can cause gas, bloating, or loose stools. Talk to your pharmacist or doctor before using concentrated supplements, especially if you have a medical condition.

Read the full Plum monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Ibuprofen

What Is Ibuprofen Used For?

Brand names: Motrin, Children's Motrin, Advil, Children's Advil, Fenbid Forte Gel, Ibugel Forte, Arthrofen, Ebufac, Rimafen, Calprofen, Fenpaed, Galprofen, Nurofen for Children, Orbifen for Children, Brufen, Brufen Retard, Fenbid, Tab-Profen, Ibuprofen, Calodor

Oral ibuprofen products (tablets, coated tablets, and liquid-filled capsules) are used to temporarily relieve minor aches and pains from headache, backache, toothache, muscular aches, menstrual cramps, minor arthritis pain, and the common cold, and to temporarily reduce fever. The oral prescription tablet (Ibu) is also indicated for the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, mild to moderate pain, and primary dysmenorrhea (painful periods).

Caldolor, an intravenous (IV) form, is approved for adults and children 3 months and older to manage mild to moderate pain, to manage moderate to severe pain alongside opioid pain medicines, and to reduce fever. A separate intravenous solution, Ibuprofen Lysine, is used specifically in premature infants to close a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) — an abnormal blood vessel connection near the heart — when standard medical management has not worked.

See full Ibuprofen drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Plum

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

0Major
121Moderate
0Minor
2,708No known interaction
121 Moderate 2,708 No interaction
Moderate

121 interactions

Showing 60 of 121 moderate interactions — see all 121 on the Plum page.

No interaction 2,708 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,708 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Plum list.

See the full Plum interactions page
See every supplement checked against Ibuprofen, 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
Plum monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place Ibuprofen supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against Ibuprofen, ranked by severity Ibuprofen 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 Plum and Ibuprofen Together: Common Questions

Can you take Plum with Ibuprofen?
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 Plum and Ibuprofen 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

Still Have a Question About Ibuprofen and Plum?

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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.