Drug & supplement interaction

Syrian Rue + drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate

drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate brand name: Beyaz.

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

drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate falls into 2 drug categories that Syrian Rue can interact with; the most serious is rated moderate. Theoretically, high doses of Syrian rue might increase the risk of liver damage when taken with hepatotoxic drugs.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityModerate
LikelihoodPossible
Interactions2
EvidenceD
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
Know someone taking this? Share
Facebook Post Reddit Email
On this page
Interaction report

Syrian Rue and drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate

These two interact in 2 distinct ways. Each one is explained separately below.

Why Are There 2 Interactions?

Syrian Rue interacts with whole categories of medication. drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate falls into 2 of those categories, so it can interact with Syrian Rue in 2 different ways. We’ve listed each one below — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them (Moderate).

Moderate

HEPATOTOXIC DRUGS

1 of 2

Why this applies to drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate

drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate falls under HEPATOTOXIC DRUGS — the group Syrian Rue interacts with.

Theoretically, high doses of Syrian rue might increase the risk of liver damage when taken with hepatotoxic drugs.
Cases of hepatotoxicity and hepatic failure have been reported in patients who ingested a large quantity (up to 100 grams) of Syrian rue seeds.
Severity Moderate 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 concern with pairing Beyaz (drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate) and Syrian Rue. Birth control pills like this one are processed by your liver and can, in rare cases, put some strain on it. Syrian Rue seeds, especially in large amounts, have been linked to liver damage and even liver failure. So the worry is that stacking two things that can stress the liver could add up.

I want to be honest: this is a theoretical caution based on how these things work, not proven cases of the two together. The liver injuries reported with Syrian Rue happened with huge amounts (up to 100 grams of seeds). Still, since this isn't a supplement with proven benefits and it carries real toxicity risks, I'd skip it and check with your pharmacist or doctor first.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Yuruktumen, A., Karaduman, S., Bengi, F., and Fowler, J. Syrian rue tea: a recipe for disaster. Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2008;46(8):749-752. PubMed
  2. Berdai MA, Labib S, Harandou M. Peganum harmala L. Intoxication in a Pregnant Woman. Case Rep Emerg Med 2014;2014:783236.
  3. Ghizlane EA, Manal M, Ines HA, et al. Fatal poisoning of pregnant women by peganum harmala L.: a case reports. Ann Med Surg (Lond) 2021;68:102649. PubMed
  4. Durmaz Çelik N, Ger Akarsu F, Ozkan S, Özdemir AÖ, Aykac Ö, Memmedova F. Herbal teas can be harmful: a case of Peganum harmala induced coma in a patient with Parkinson's disease. Neurocase 2021;27(2):117-119.
Moderate

CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES

2 of 2

drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate also falls under CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES.

Theoretically, Syrian rue might increase the levels and clinical effects of drugs metabolized by CYP3A4.
Syrian rue contains beta-carboline alkaloids, including harmine, harmol, and harmane. In vitro research suggests that these beta-carboline alkaloids competitively inhibit CYP3A4 enzymes.
Severity Moderate 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

Beyaz combines estrogen (ethinyl estradiol), a progestin (drospirenone), and a folate. The ethinyl estradiol part is partly cleared by a liver enzyme called CYP3A4. In lab studies, the harmala alkaloids in Syrian Rue can slow that same enzyme. The idea here is that if CYP3A4 is slowed, your body might clear the estrogen a little less, so hormone levels could drift up.

In real life this is theoretical, based only on test-tube data, so I wouldn't expect a big effect. If anything, slightly higher estrogen could mean more nausea, breast tenderness, or headaches. The bigger worry with Syrian Rue is its own toxicity, not this interaction. Before mixing the two, please check with your pharmacist or doctor.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Zhao, T., He, Y. Q., Wang, J., Ding, K. M., Wang, C. H., and Wang, Z. T. Inhibition of human cytochrome P450 enzymes 3A4 and 2D6 by β-carboline alkaloids, harmine derivatives. Phytother Res 2011;25(11):1671-1677.

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

Syrian Rue Also Interacts With Other Medications

Syrian Rue has 1,123 moderate known drug interactions in our database — the drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate one above is among them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 1,123 No known interaction 1,707 (incl. drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Syrian Rue

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

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate

This page covers Syrian Rue only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate page lists 245 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Beer (major), Grapefruit (major), Siberian Cocklebur (major) and St. John's Wort (major).

By severity: 6 major · 200 moderate · 39 minor.

Open the drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Syrian Rue and drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate 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 Syrian Rue
Steady interest

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

29 days ago today
Medication drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate
Top 10%

#265 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 Syrian Rue

What is Syrian Rue?

  • Traditional remedy for digestive complaints
  • Used as a sedative or for mood
  • Antimicrobial and antiparasitic folk use
  • Used as a dye and incense
  • Recreational psychoactive use

Syrian Rue (Peganum harmala) is a traditional plant whose seeds contain potent compounds called harmala alkaloids, including MAO-inhibiting harmine and harmaline. There is little reliable human evidence that it safely treats any condition, and it carries real risks of toxicity, so it is not recommended for self-treatment. Talk to a pharmacist or doctor before considering it.

Read the full Syrian Rue monograph & all interactions
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Syrian Rue

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

0Major
1,123Moderate
0Minor
1,706No known interaction
1,123 Moderate 1,706 No interaction
Moderate

1,123 interactions

Showing 60 of 1,123 moderate interactions — see all 1,123 on the Syrian Rue page.

No interaction 1,706 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 1,706 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Syrian Rue list.

See the full Syrian Rue interactions page
See every supplement checked against drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate, 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
Syrian Rue monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate, 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 Ask a pharmacist › Free, personal answer from our licensed team
Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Syrian Rue and drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate Together: Common Questions

Can you take Syrian Rue with drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate?
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.
Why are there 2 interactions listed for Syrian Rue and drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate?
drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate belongs to more than one drug category, and Syrian Rue interacts with each of those categories a little differently. We list every one so nothing is missed — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them.
How serious is the Syrian Rue and drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate 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 drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, levomefolate and Syrian Rue?

Our pharmacists answer your medication & supplement questions — free.

Ask a pharmacist

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.