Drug & supplement interaction

Tomato + Erlotinib

Erlotinib brand name: Tarceva.

No Known Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 27, 2026
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Tomato and Erlotinib 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 Erlotinib 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

Tomato and Erlotinib

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 Erlotinib and Tomato 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 Tomato at all — not against Erlotinib, 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.

Tomato safety at a glance

Tomato overall Generally safe Tomato as a food is safe for most people; concentrated supplements are less studied.
Pregnancy Likely Safe When the tomato fruit or its products are consumed in typical food amounts. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of tomato extr... Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Likely Safe When the tomato fruit or its products are consumed in typical food amounts. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of tomato extr... 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 Erlotinib and Tomato? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Tomato and Erlotinib 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.

  • Diarrhea / Vomiting reported in 10.8% of FDA reports for Erlotinib Additional detail

    Tomato

    “Orally, tomato leaves and ripe or unripe tomato fruit are well tolerated in typical food amounts. Tomato extracts also seem to be well tolerated. Tomatine, a glycoalkaloid found in tomato leaves and unripe green tomatoes, can cause serious side effects when consumed in excessive amounts.

    Serious Adverse Effects (Rare):

    Orally: Bradycardia, diarrhea, respiratory disturbances, spasms, vomiting, and death with excessive…”

    Tomato · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in diarrhea.

    “Orally, the glycoalkaloid tomatine in tomato leaf or green tomatoes can cause severe mucous membrane irritation, vomiting, diarrhea, and colic when consumed in excessive amounts (18,102957).”

    Tomato · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in diarrhea.

    2 sources cited
    1. 18. Gruenwald J, Brendler T, Jaenicke C. PDR for Herbal Medicines. 1st ed. Montvale, NJ: Medical Economics Company, Inc., 1998.
    2. 102957. Friedman M. Tomato Glycoalkaloids: Role in the Plant and in the Diet. J Agric Food Chem. 2002;50(21):5751-80. PubMed

    Erlotinib

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Erlotinib, and in voluntary FDA adverse-event reports. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Headache Additional detail

    Tomato

    “Orally, the glycoalkaloid tomatine in tomato leaf or green tomatoes can cause dizziness, stupor, headache, and mild spasms when consumed in excessive amounts (18,102957).”

    Tomato · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in cluster headache.

    2 sources cited
    1. 18. Gruenwald J, Brendler T, Jaenicke C. PDR for Herbal Medicines. 1st ed. Montvale, NJ: Medical Economics Company, Inc., 1998.
    2. 102957. Friedman M. Tomato Glycoalkaloids: Role in the Plant and in the Diet. J Agric Food Chem. 2002;50(21):5751-80. PubMed

    Erlotinib

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

Reported for Tomato but not commonly for Erlotinib: a slow heartbeat and dizziness.

Effects for Erlotinib come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Tomato come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 12,442 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Erlotinib that mention that effect — a reporting proportion, not an incidence rate and not evidence the drug caused it. Wording is matched across sources by our own clinical vocabulary, so treat this as a prompt to pay attention, not a diagnosis.

Special populations

Tomato in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy And Lactation Likely Safe

When the tomato fruit or its products are consumed in typical food amounts. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of tomato extracts when used during pregnancy or 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

How to take them

Some Erlotinib Products Have a Food Rule — Tomato Should Not Break It

At least one FDA label for a product containing Erlotinib says to take it on an empty stomach. Most supplements — Tomato included — are taken with a meal, so the easy mistake is swallowing both together at breakfast. Where that rule applies, keep Erlotinib on its own and move Tomato to a meal later in the day.

This may not be true of your version. Food instructions belong to the product, not the ingredient: two Erlotinib 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.

Recommended Dose – NSCLC The recommended daily dose of erlotinib tablets for NSCLC is 150 mg taken on an empty stomach, i.e., at least one hour before or two hours after the ingestion of food.

From the Dosage and Administration section of the FDA label we read for Erlotinib — 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 Erlotinib Is Prescribed For, and What Tomato Has Been Studied For

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

Erlotinib is prescribed for: Erlotinib tablets are used to treat metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients whose tumors carry specific gene changes — EGFR exon 19 deletions or exon 21 (L858R) mutations — confirmed by an FDA-approved test. It can be used as a first-line treatment, as maintenance therapy, or after at least one prior chemotherapy has stopped working. Erlotinib tablets are also used for the first-line treatment of locally advanced, unresectable, or metastatic pancreatic cancer — but only in combination with another chemotherapy drug called gemcitabine. Erlotinib is not recommended alongside platinum-based chemotherapy regimens.

Tomato has been studied for:

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

    Tomato for pancreatic cancer

    Research on the benefits of consuming tomatoes or tomato-based products for the prevention of pancreatic cancer is conflicting and limited to observational studies only.

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

    Tomato for lung cancer

    It is unclear if consuming tomatoes reduces the risk of lung cancer; the available research is conflicting.

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

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Erlotinib

This page covers Tomato only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Erlotinib page lists 18 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Bilberry (moderate), Coffee Charcoal (moderate), European Mandrake (moderate) and Glucomannan (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 8 moderate · 9 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Erlotinib page

“Activated charcoal is the entry I would flag first for anyone taking erlotinib (Tarceva), an oral targeted therapy for certain lung cancers. Charcoal can adsorb the drug in the gut and cut how much reaches the bloodstream, and with a cancer pill, less absorbed means less cancer fought.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Erlotinib interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 2,820 real supplement products containing Tomato, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Tomato. Even though Tomato itself has no known interaction with Erlotinib, 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 Tomato and Erlotinib 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 Tomato
Top 10%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Erlotinib
Steady interest

#2,520 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 Tomato reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 27, 2026. The Tomato and Erlotinib 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 Tomato

What is Tomato?

  • Heart health support
  • Prostate health
  • Antioxidant support
  • Skin protection from sun damage
  • General nutrition

Tomato is a common food rich in vitamins, potassium, and the antioxidant lycopene, and eating it as part of a balanced diet is healthy for most people. Concentrated tomato or lycopene supplements are marketed for heart and prostate health, but the evidence is mixed and far from proven. Talk to your pharmacist or doctor before using high-dose supplements, especially if you are pregnant or have a medical condition.

Solanum lycopersicum · Solanaceae · Fruit (and extracts such as lycopene from the fruit and skin) · Whole fruit, juice, paste, tomato extract capsules, lycopene supplements

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

Tomato: dosing

There is no official standardized dose of tomato or lycopene supplements, and a proven effective amount has not been established. Tomatoes are best enjoyed simply as part of a balanced diet.If you choose to use a tomato extract or lycopene supplement, follow the directions on the product label and do not exceed the recommended amount.

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

Read the full Tomato monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Erlotinib

What Is Erlotinib Used For?

Brand name: Tarceva

Erlotinib tablets are used to treat metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients whose tumors carry specific gene changes — EGFR exon 19 deletions or exon 21 (L858R) mutations — confirmed by an FDA-approved test. It can be used as a first-line treatment, as maintenance therapy, or after at least one prior chemotherapy has stopped working.

Erlotinib tablets are also used for the first-line treatment of locally advanced, unresectable, or metastatic pancreatic cancer — but only in combination with another chemotherapy drug called gemcitabine. Erlotinib is not recommended alongside platinum-based chemotherapy regimens.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Erlotinib

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (12,441 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Diarrhea 1,339 reports
Rash 1,317 reports
Malignant neoplasm progression 890 reports
Fatigue 718 reports
Nausea 696 reports
See full Erlotinib drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Tomato

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

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

Tomato References

The 3 references that drive our Tomato 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. Gruenwald J, Brendler T, Jaenicke C. PDR for Herbal Medicines. 1st ed. Montvale, NJ: Medical Economics Company, Inc., 1998.
  2. Asero R, Mistrello G, Amato S. Airborne allergy to tomato proteins. Allergy. 2010;65(12):1626-7. PubMed
  3. Friedman M. Tomato Glycoalkaloids: Role in the Plant and in the Diet. J Agric Food Chem. 2002;50(21):5751-80. 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 Tomato and Erlotinib Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Tomato with Erlotinib?
We do not list a known interaction between Tomato and Erlotinib. 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 Tomato and Erlotinib have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 3 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 Tomato and Erlotinib at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Erlotinib says to take it on an empty stomach, and supplements are usually taken with a meal — so taking them together at breakfast is the easy mistake. Where that applies, keep Erlotinib on its own and move Tomato to a meal later in the day. Food instructions belong to the product rather than the ingredient, so check the directions on your own box. This is about absorption, not an interaction.
Are Tomato and Erlotinib 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 Tomato in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Erlotinib is being adjusted to a target.
Does Erlotinib interact with any supplements?
Yes. Erlotinib has documented interactions with 18 supplements in our database — Tomato is not one of them. The Erlotinib 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

Tomato monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Erlotinib drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Erlotinib supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Erlotinib, 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 3 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Erlotinib and Tomato?

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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.