Drug & supplement interaction

Sulforaphane + Venlafaxine

Venlafaxine brand names: Effexor XR, Effexor.

No Known Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 13, 2026
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Sulforaphane and Venlafaxine 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 label for Venlafaxine states a food rule worth keeping to, and 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

Sulforaphane and Venlafaxine

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 Venlafaxine and Sulforaphane 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.

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.

Sulforaphane safety at a glance

Sulforaphane overall Use caution Sulforaphane from food is considered safe, but concentrated supplements are less studied for long-term use.
Pregnancy Likely Safe When used orally in amounts found in foods. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of sulforaphane in medicinal amounts. Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Likely Safe When used orally in amounts found in foods. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of sulforaphane in medicinal amounts. 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 Venlafaxine and Sulforaphane? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Venlafaxine

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Venlafaxine is filed under 8 classifications — including antidepressant drugs, qt interval-prolonging drugs, serotonergic drugs. Sulforaphane has documented interactions with 3 drug classes — the most serious being cytochrome p450 1a2 (cyp1a2) substrates (moderate), cytochrome p450 2e1 (cyp2e1) substrates (moderate) and cytochrome p450 3a4 (cyp3a4) substrates (moderate) — and none of Venlafaxine’s classifications are among them.

Classification data comes from our licensed Natural Medicines dataset. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded there, so this describes how the check was run — it is not a safety guarantee.

Keep it in perspective

Sulforaphane Does Interact With Other Medications

Sulforaphane has 722 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Venlafaxine isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 722 No known interaction 2,108 (incl. Venlafaxine)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Sulforaphane

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Sulforaphane and Venlafaxine 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. One of them is worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Seizures Worth acting on Additional detail

    Sulforaphane

    “Orally, sulforaphane has been reported to cause headache in one clinical study. In another clinical trial, insomnia and irritability were reported. Sulforaphane has also been associated with two cases of seizure in males with autism. In one case, a patient with a recent history of seizure experienced a seizure after taking sulforaphane for 3 weeks.”

    Sulforaphane · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in autism spectrum disorder.

    3 sources cited
    1. 104537. Momtazmanesh S, Amirimoghaddam-Yazdi Z, Moghaddam HS, Mohammadi MR, Akhondzadeh S. Sulforaphane as an adjunctive treatment for irritability in children with autism spectrum disorder: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Psychiatr PubMed
    2. 108131. Zimmerman AW, Singh K, Connors SL, et al. Randomized controlled trial of sulforaphane and metabolite discovery in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Mol Autism 2021;12(1):38.
    3. 95267. Singh K, Connors SL, Macklin EA, et al. Sulforaphane treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014;111(43):15550-5. PubMed

    Venlafaxine

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

  • Weight gain Additional detail

    Sulforaphane

    “Orally, sulforaphane has been reported to cause increased weight gain. In one clinical study in males 13-27 years of age with autism, patients taking sulforaphane gained an additional 4 pounds on average over 18 weeks when compared with those taking placebo.”

    Sulforaphane · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in autism spectrum disorder.

    1 source cited
    1. 95267. Singh K, Connors SL, Macklin EA, et al. Sulforaphane treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014;111(43):15550-5. PubMed

    Venlafaxine

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

  • Trouble sleeping / Headache Additional detail

    Sulforaphane

    Recorded for Sulforaphane in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Seizures above.

    Venlafaxine

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

  • Vomiting Additional detail

    Sulforaphane

    “Orally, sulforaphane and sulforaphane-rich extracts can cause bowel discomfort, stomach upset, heartburn, and vomiting. A specific stabilized form of sulforaphane (Cavamax W6) caused mild stomach upset in 60% of subjects in a small study. However, in some clinical studies, the gastrointestinal side effects reported with sulforaphane did not occur more frequently than with placebo.”

    Sulforaphane · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in dyspepsia.

    6 sources cited
    1. 95251. Cipolla BG, Mandron E, Lefort JM, et al. Effect of sulforaphane in men with biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy. Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2015;8(8):712-9. PubMed
    2. 95252. Fahey JW, Wade KL, Wehage SL, et al. Stabilized sulforaphane for clinical use: Phytochemical delivery efficiency. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2017 Apr;61(4). PubMed
    3. 95260. Alumkal JJ, Slottke R, Schwartzman J, et al. A phase II study of sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprout extracts in men with recurrent prostate cancer. Invest New Drugs. 2015;33(2):480-9. PubMed
    4. 95265. Heber D, Li Z, Garcia-Lloret M, et al. Sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprout extract attenuates nasal allergic response to diesel exhaust particles. Food Funct. 2014;5(1):35-41. PubMed
    5. 95267. Singh K, Connors SL, Macklin EA, et al. Sulforaphane treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014;111(43):15550-5. PubMed
    6. 95268. Wise RA, Holbrook JT, Criner G, et al. Lack of effect of oral sulforaphane administration on Nrf2 expression in COPD: A randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial. PLoS One. 2016;11(11):e0163716. PubMed

    Venlafaxine

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

Reported for Sulforaphane but not commonly for Venlafaxine: stomach upset, mood changes or irritability and heartburn.

Effects for Venlafaxine come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Sulforaphane 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

Sulforaphane in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy And Lactation Likely Safe

When used orally in amounts found in foods. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of sulforaphane in medicinal amounts.

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

How to take them

Some Venlafaxine Products Have a Food Rule — Sulforaphane Should Not Break It

At least one FDA label for a product containing Venlafaxine says to take it with food. If you take Sulforaphane on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate — and take Venlafaxine with a meal where the label says to.

This may not be true of your version. Food instructions belong to the product, not the ingredient: two Venlafaxine products can carry different directions, and extended-release forms often differ from immediate-release ones. The label we read is quoted below — check the directions on your own box or bottle, or ask your pharmacist, for how to take the exact product you were given.

Take once daily with food.

From the Dosage and Administration section of the FDA label we read for Venlafaxine — where that label names a specific product, the instruction is that product's. Read the label on DailyMed ›

A food rule is not an interaction — it is about how much of the medicine you absorb. The directions that came with your own product, and your pharmacist, outrank anything on this page.

Overlapping uses

What Venlafaxine Is Prescribed For, and What Sulforaphane Has Been Studied For

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

Venlafaxine is prescribed for: Venlafaxine is used to treat major depressive disorder (MDD) across all available formulations. Extended-release capsules (including Effexor XR) are also approved for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), and panic disorder (PD). Extended-release tablets are approved for major depressive disorder and social anxiety disorder. Immediate-release venlafaxine tablets are indicated for major depressive disorder only.

Sulforaphane has been studied for:

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

    Sulforaphane for depression

    It is unclear if oral sulforaphane is beneficial for depression.

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Sulforaphane or Venlafaxine

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

This page covers Sulforaphane only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Venlafaxine page lists 110 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), Cesium (major) and Ephedra (major).

By severity: 8 major · 82 moderate · 20 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Venlafaxine page

“Venlafaxine (Effexor, Effexor XR) is an antidepressant that raises serotonin, which is exactly where part of the danger on this page sits, and its 110 interactions deserve genuine respect. Eight carry a major rating, most tied to heart rhythm: several ingredients, grapefruit among them, can stretch the QT interval and add to a strain v…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Venlafaxine interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 167 real supplement products containing Sulforaphane, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Sulforaphane. Even though Sulforaphane itself has no known interaction with Venlafaxine, 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 Sulforaphane and Venlafaxine 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 Sulforaphane
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Venlafaxine
Top 5%

#105 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 Sulforaphane reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Sulforaphane and Venlafaxine 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 Sulforaphane

What is Sulforaphane?

  • Antioxidant support
  • General cellular health
  • Detoxification support
  • Inflammation
  • Skin and aging concerns

Sulforaphane is a natural compound found in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables that has shown promising antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in lab studies, but strong human evidence for most specific health claims is still limited. It is generally well tolerated as part of a vegetable-rich diet, but if you take a concentrated supplement, talk to your pharmacist or doctor first.

Brassicaceae · Derived from cruciferous vegetables, especially broccoli sprouts and seeds · Capsules, tablets, powders, broccoli sprout extracts, and 'broccoli seed extract' supplements often standardized to glucoraphanin

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

Sulforaphane: dosing

There is no official, standardized dose of sulforaphane. Supplements vary widely in how they are made and how much active compound they actually deliver. Many products are labeled by glucoraphanin content or by 'active sulforaphane,' and the amount of usable sulforaphane can differ depending on whether the enzyme myrosinase is present.Because of this variability, the best approach is to follow the directions on the product label and not exceed the recommended amount.

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

Read the full Sulforaphane monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Venlafaxine

What Is Venlafaxine Used For?

Brand names: Effexor XR, Effexor

Venlafaxine is used to treat major depressive disorder (MDD) across all available formulations. Extended-release capsules (including Effexor XR) are also approved for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), and panic disorder (PD).

Extended-release tablets are approved for major depressive disorder and social anxiety disorder. Immediate-release venlafaxine tablets are indicated for major depressive disorder only.

See full Venlafaxine drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Sulforaphane

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

0Major
722Moderate
0Minor
2,107No known interaction
722 Moderate 2,107 No interaction
Moderate

722 interactions

Showing 60 of 722 moderate interactions — see all 722 on the Sulforaphane page.

No interaction 2,107 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,107 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Sulforaphane list.

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

Sulforaphane References

The 16 references that drive our Sulforaphane 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. Park EJ, Pezzuto JM. Botanicals in cancer chemoprevention. Cancer Metastasis Rev 2002;21:231-55. PubMed
  2. Barcelo S, Mace K, Pfeifer AM, Chipman JK. Production of DNA strand breaks by N-nitrosodimethylamine and 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline in THLE cells expressing human CYP isoenzymes and inhibition by sulforaphane. Mutat Res 1998;402:111-20. PubMed
  3. Cipolla BG, Mandron E, Lefort JM, et al. Effect of sulforaphane in men with biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy. Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2015;8(8):712-9. PubMed
  4. Fahey JW, Wade KL, Wehage SL, et al. Stabilized sulforaphane for clinical use: Phytochemical delivery efficiency. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2017 Apr;61(4). PubMed
  5. Alumkal JJ, Slottke R, Schwartzman J, et al. A phase II study of sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprout extracts in men with recurrent prostate cancer. Invest New Drugs. 2015;33(2):480-9. PubMed
  6. Heber D, Li Z, Garcia-Lloret M, et al. Sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprout extract attenuates nasal allergic response to diesel exhaust particles. Food Funct. 2014;5(1):35-41. PubMed
  7. Singh K, Connors SL, Macklin EA, et al. Sulforaphane treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014;111(43):15550-5. PubMed
  8. Wise RA, Holbrook JT, Criner G, et al. Lack of effect of oral sulforaphane administration on Nrf2 expression in COPD: A randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial. PLoS One. 2016;11(11):e0163716. PubMed
  9. Bent S, Lawton B, Warren T, et al. Identification of urinary metabolites that correlate with clinical improvements in children with autism treated with sulforaphane from broccoli. Mol Autism. 2018;9:35. PubMed
  10. Momtazmanesh S, Amirimoghaddam-Yazdi Z, Moghaddam HS, Mohammadi MR, Akhondzadeh S. Sulforaphane as an adjunctive treatment for irritability in children with autism spectrum disorder: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Psychiatr PubMed
  11. Fimognari C, Lenzi M, Hrelia P. Interaction of the isothiocyanate sulforaphane with drug disposition and metabolism: pharmacological and toxicological implications. Curr Drug Metab. 2008;9(7):668-78. PubMed
  12. Chinnappan SM, George A, Evans M, Anthony J. Efficacy of Labisia pumila and Eurycoma longifolia standardised extracts on hot flushes, quality of life, hormone and lipid profile of peri-menopausal and menopausal women: a randomised, placebo-controlled stud
  13. Mahéo K, Morel F, Langouët S, et al. Inhibition of cytochromes P-450 and induction of glutathione S-transferases by sulforaphane in primary human and rat hepatocytes. Cancer Res. 1997;57(17):3649-52.
  14. Yoxall V, Kentish P, Coldham N, Kuhnert N, Sauer MJ, Ioannides C. Modulation of hepatic cytochromes P450 and phase II enzymes by dietary doses of sulforaphane in rats: Implications for its chemopreventive activity. Int J Cancer. 2005;117(3):356-62. PubMed
  15. Zimmerman AW, Singh K, Connors SL, et al. Randomized controlled trial of sulforaphane and metabolite discovery in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Mol Autism 2021;12(1):38.

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 Sulforaphane and Venlafaxine Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Sulforaphane with Venlafaxine?
We do not list a known interaction between Sulforaphane and Venlafaxine. 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 Sulforaphane and Venlafaxine have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 5 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.
Should I take Sulforaphane and Venlafaxine at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Venlafaxine says to take it with food. If you take Sulforaphane on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate and take Venlafaxine with a meal where the label says to. Food instructions belong to the product rather than the ingredient — two Venlafaxine products can differ — so check the directions on your own box. This is about absorption, not an interaction.
Are Sulforaphane and Venlafaxine 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 Sulforaphane in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Venlafaxine is being adjusted to a target.
How was the Sulforaphane and Venlafaxine combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Venlafaxine is filed under 8 classifications, and Sulforaphane has documented interactions with 3 drug classes — none of Venlafaxine's classifications are among them. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded in our dataset, so this describes how the check was run rather than guaranteeing safety.
Does Sulforaphane interact with any other medications?
Yes. Sulforaphane has 722 documented drug interactions in our database — Venlafaxine is simply not one of them. If you take anything else, it is worth checking each one; they are all listed on this page.
Does Venlafaxine interact with any supplements?
Yes. Venlafaxine has documented interactions with 110 supplements in our database — Sulforaphane is not one of them. The Venlafaxine 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

Sulforaphane monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Venlafaxine drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Venlafaxine supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Venlafaxine, 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 16 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Venlafaxine and Sulforaphane?

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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.