Drug & supplement interaction

Poppy Seed + Phenobarbital

Phenobarbital brand names: Phenobarbital, Solfoton, Luminal.

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 Poppy Seed and Phenobarbital 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. Additionally, although there is no interaction, the two are separately associated with some of the same side effects, which would make a new symptom harder to attribute to one or the other.

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Interaction report

Poppy Seed and Phenobarbital

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 Phenobarbital and Poppy Seed 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 Poppy Seed at all — not against Phenobarbital, 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.

Poppy Seed safety at a glance

Poppy Seed overall Use caution Safe as a food, but large amounts may contain trace opiate residue and can trigger positive drug tests.
Pregnancy Likely Safe When used as a spice or flavoring in amounts commonly found in foods. Poppy seed has Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status in the US for use as a spice or... Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Likely Safe When used as a spice or flavoring in amounts commonly found in foods. Poppy seed has Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status in the US for use as a spice or... 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 Phenobarbital and Poppy Seed? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Poppy Seed and Phenobarbital May Share Several of the Same Side Effects

This is not an interaction. Neither one changes how your body handles the other, and nothing here says they react together. What our sources do show is that each has separately been linked to the effects below — so taking both can make those effects more likely to turn up, and harder to pin on one or the other if they do. 2 of them are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • An irregular heartbeat Worth acting on Additional detail

    Poppy Seed

    “Orally, poppy seed can cause intestinal obstruction with fecal impaction when used in very large amounts. A case of bowel obstruction and subsequent death due to complications of bowel obstruction has been reported for a 54-year-old female who ingested at least 900 grams of poppy seed.”

    Poppy Seed · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in arrhythmia.

    1 source cited
    1. 96901. Schuppener LM, Corliss RF. Death due to complications of bowel obstruction following raw poppy seed ingestion. J Forensic Sci. 2018;63(2):614-618. PubMed

    Phenobarbital

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Phenobarbital. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • An allergic reaction Worth acting on Additional detail

    Poppy Seed

    “Orally, allergic reactions to poppy seed have included vomiting and swelling of the oral mucosa, urticaria, respiratory distress, and dyspnea.”

    Poppy Seed · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ards).

    1 source cited
    1. 27282. Braun, W. and Kovary, P. M. [Poppy seed allergy]. Z.Hautkr 1988;63(4):344.

    Phenobarbital

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Phenobarbital. Read the label on DailyMed ›

Reported for Poppy Seed but not commonly for Phenobarbital: a bowel blockage, an electrolyte imbalance, shortness of breath and anxiety or restlessness.

Effects for Phenobarbital come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Poppy Seed come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Wording is matched across sources by our own clinical vocabulary, so treat this as a prompt to pay attention, not a diagnosis.

Special populations

Poppy Seed in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy And Lactation Likely Safe

When used as a spice or flavoring in amounts commonly found in foods. Poppy seed has Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status in the US for use as a spice or flavoring. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of poppy seed when used in medicinal amounts during pregnancy and lactation; avoid using.

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 Phenobarbital Is Prescribed For, and What Poppy Seed Has Been Studied For

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

Phenobarbital is prescribed for: Phenobarbital tablets and oral solutions are used to treat generalized and partial seizures and as a sedative. Phenobarbital Sodium injection is used as a long-term anticonvulsant for generalized tonic-clonic and focal seizures, for emergency control of acute convulsive episodes (including status epilepticus), for sedation, short-term treatment of insomnia, and as a preanesthetic. It is also used in pediatric patients as an anticonvulsant and sedative, including before and after surgery. Sezaby (phenobarbital injection, intravenous) is specifically indicated for the treatment of neonatal seizures in term and preterm infants.

Read the rest of what Phenobarbital is prescribed for

It is not approved for use in adolescents or adults.

Poppy Seed has been studied for:

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

    Poppy Seed for insomnia

    Although there has been interest in using oral poppy seed for insomnia, there is insufficient reliable information about the clinical effects of poppy seed for this purpose.

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Poppy Seed or Phenobarbital

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

This page covers Poppy Seed only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Phenobarbital page lists 174 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: 1,4-butanediol (major), Activated Charcoal (major), Beer (major), Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (ghb) (major) and Henbane (major).

By severity: 10 major · 143 moderate · 21 minor.

Open the Phenobarbital interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Poppy Seed and Phenobarbital 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 Poppy Seed
Steady interest

#1,312 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Phenobarbital
Top half

#1,413 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 Poppy Seed reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Poppy Seed and Phenobarbital 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 Poppy Seed

What is Poppy Seed?

  • Culinary flavoring and baking
  • Source of dietary fat and minerals
  • Traditional digestive remedy
  • Skin and cooking oil
  • Mild sleep or relaxation folk use

Poppy seeds are a common food ingredient harvested from the opium poppy, and the seeds themselves contain very little of the plant's opium compounds. They are generally safe as food, but eating large amounts can leave trace opiate residues that may show up on drug tests. There is little solid evidence supporting poppy seed as a medicinal supplement.

Papaver somniferum · Papaveraceae · Seeds (and seed oil) · Whole seeds, ground seeds, seed oil, baked goods, paste fillings

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

Poppy Seed: dosing

There is no established medicinal dose for poppy seed. It is normally consumed as a food ingredient in amounts found in breads, pastries, and dressings, which is considered safe for most people.No supplement form has a proven, standardized therapeutic dose. If you choose to use a poppy seed product, follow the label and avoid large amounts or homemade tea preparations.

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

Read the full Poppy Seed monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Phenobarbital

What Is Phenobarbital Used For?

Brand names: Phenobarbital, Solfoton, Luminal

Phenobarbital tablets and oral solutions are used to treat generalized and partial seizures and as a sedative. Phenobarbital Sodium injection is used as a long-term anticonvulsant for generalized tonic-clonic and focal seizures, for emergency control of acute convulsive episodes (including status epilepticus), for sedation, short-term treatment of insomnia, and as a preanesthetic. It is also used in pediatric patients as an anticonvulsant and sedative, including before and after surgery.

Sezaby (phenobarbital injection, intravenous) is specifically indicated for the treatment of neonatal seizures in term and preterm infants. It is not approved for use in adolescents or adults.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Phenobarbital

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (15,690 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Seizure 1,669 reports
Toxicity to various agents 647 reports
Status epilepticus 532 reports
Somnolence 492 reports
Multiple-drug resistance 475 reports
See full Phenobarbital drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Poppy Seed

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Poppy Seed — 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 Poppy Seed 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 Poppy Seed list.

See the full Poppy Seed interactions page
See every supplement checked against Phenobarbital, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Poppy Seed References

The 13 references that drive our Poppy Seed 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. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. Title 21. Part 182 -- Substances Generally Recognized As Safe. Available at: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?CFRPart=182
  2. Meneely KD. Poppy seed ingestion: the Oregon perspective. J Forensic Sci 1992;37(4):1158-1162. DOI
  3. Kaplan, R. Poppy seed dependence. Med J Aust 1994;161(2):176. PubMed
  4. Braye, K., Harwood, T., Inder, R., Beasley, R., and Robinson, G. Poppy seed tea and opiate abuse in New Zealand. Drug Alcohol Rev 2007;26(2):215-219. PubMed
  5. Lloyd-Jones, D. M. and Bonomo, Y. Unusual presentations for pharmacotherapy-poppy seed dependence. Drug Alcohol Rev 2006;25(4):375-376. PubMed
  6. Braun, W. and Kovary, P. M. [Poppy seed allergy]. Z.Hautkr 1988;63(4):344.
  7. Pettitt BC Jr, Dyszel SM, Hood LV. Opiates in poppy seed: effect on urinalysis results after consumption of poppy seed cake-filling. Clin Chem 1987;33(7):1251-2. DOI
  8. Bjerver K, Jonsson J, Kilsson A. Morphine intake from poppy seed food. J Pharma Pharmacol 2011;34(12):798-801. DOI
  9. Facchini PJ, De Luca V. Phloem-Specific Expression of Tyrosine/Dopa Decarboxylase Genes and the Biosynthesis of Isoquinoline Alkaloids in Opium Poppy. The Plant Cell 1995;7(11):1811-1821. PubMed
  10. Powers D, Erickson S, Swortwood MJ. Quantification of morphine, codeine, and thebaine in home-brewed poppy seed tea by LC-MS/MS. J Forensic Sci. 2018;63(4):1229-1235.
  11. Schuppener LM, Corliss RF. Death due to complications of bowel obstruction following raw poppy seed ingestion. J Forensic Sci. 2018;63(2):614-618. PubMed
  12. Poponea N, Kashlan MT, Vollstaedt J. Opium poppy seed tea: A lesser known but deadly cocktail. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2018;197:A6895.
  13. Tan YPA, Alexander PDG, Knowles S. Acute cardiotoxicity following 'poppy seed tea' consumption. Anaesth Rep 2021;9(2):e12130. 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 Poppy Seed and Phenobarbital Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Poppy Seed with Phenobarbital?
We do not list a known interaction between Poppy Seed and Phenobarbital. 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.
Do Poppy Seed and Phenobarbital have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 2 of the same effects. That is not an interaction: neither changes how your body handles the other. It does mean that if one of those effects turns up, it can be harder to tell which one is behind it. They are listed on this page with the source behind each.
Are Poppy Seed and Phenobarbital 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 Poppy Seed in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Phenobarbital is being adjusted to a target.
Does Phenobarbital interact with any supplements?
Yes. Phenobarbital has documented interactions with 174 supplements in our database — Poppy Seed is not one of them. The Phenobarbital 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

Poppy Seed monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Phenobarbital drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Phenobarbital supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Phenobarbital, 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 13 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Phenobarbital and Poppy Seed?

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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.