Drug & supplement interaction

Watercress + Ibuprofen

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

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Watercress and Ibuprofen 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

Watercress and Ibuprofen

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 Ibuprofen and Watercress 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.

Watercress safety at a glance

Watercress overall Generally safe Generally safe as a food for most adults in normal culinary amounts.
Pregnancy Likely Unsafe When used in medicinal amounts. Watercress might stimulate menstruation or have abortifacient effects. Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Use caution Food amounts are likely fine; avoid medicinal or concentrated doses due to lack of data.

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 Ibuprofen and Watercress? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Ibuprofen

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Ibuprofen is filed under 10 classifications — including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (nsaids), cytochrome p450 2c9 (cyp2c9) substrates, anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs. Watercress has documented interactions with 3 drug classes — the most serious being chlorzoxazone (parafon forte, paraflex) (moderate), lithium (moderate) and warfarin (coumadin) (moderate) — and none of Ibuprofen’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

Watercress Does Interact With Other Medications

Watercress has 6 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Ibuprofen isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Watercress

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Watercress and Ibuprofen 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.

  • Kidney problems Worth acting on Additional detail

    Watercress

    “Orally, excessive or prolonged use of watercress may theoretically cause kidney damage. However, in overweight adults with physical disabilities, taking a watercress extract 750 mg/kg daily for 5 weeks does not cause any change in levels of creatinine or urea.”

    Watercress · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in myasthenia gravis.

    2 sources cited
    1. 85598. Brinker, F. Herb Contraindications and Drug Interactions. 1998;2nd edition.
    2. 109666. Clemente M, Miguel MD, Felipe KB, et al. Effect of watercress extract supplementation on lipid profile and oxidative stress markers in overweight people with physical disability: A randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial. Phytother Res. 202 PubMed

    Ibuprofen

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

  • Fever / Vomiting reported in 4.6% of FDA reports for Ibuprofen Additional detail

    Watercress

    “Raw, wild watercress can be contaminated with parasitic flukes which, when ingested, cause the liver disease fascioliasis. Symptoms include abdominal pain, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, urticaria, eosinophilia, and hepatomegaly. Clinical research shows that taking a standardized extract of watercress orally 750 mg/kg daily for 5 weeks is not associated with increases in liver function enzymes.”

    Watercress · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in cirrhosis.

    6 sources cited
    1. 85575. Dobrucali, A., Yigitbasi, R., Erzin, Y., Sunamak, O., Polat, E., and Yakar, H. Fasciola hepatica infestation as a very rare cause of extrahepatic cholestasis. World J Gastroenterol. 10-15-2004;10(20):3076-3077. PubMed
    2. 85574. Yilmaz, H. and Godekmerdan, A. Human fasciolosis in Van province, Turkey. Acta Trop. 2004;92(2):161-162.
    3. 85573. Carrada-Bravo, T. [Fascioliasis: diagnosis, epidemiology and treatment]. Rev Gastroenterol.Mex. 2003;68(2):135-142.
    4. 85567. Cosme, A., Ojeda, E., Poch, M., Bujanda, L., Castiella, A., and Fernandez, J. Sonographic findings of hepatic lesions in human fascioliasis. J Clin Ultrasound 2003;31(7):358-363. PubMed
    5. 85564. Christmann, M., Henrich, R., Mayer, G., and Ell, C. [Infection with fasciola hepatica causing elevated liver-enzyme results and eosinophilia - serologic and endoscopic diagnosis and therapy]. Z.Gastroenterol. 2002;40(9):801-806.
    6. 85582. Cruz, Lopez O., Adan, Pimentel A., Tamariz Cruz, O. J., Munoz, Lopez A., Cruz Lopez, M. C., Cruz Lopez, M. E., and Munoz, Lopez S. [Hepatic fasciolasis diagnosed in state phase]. Rev Gastroenterol Mex. 2006;71(1):59-62.

    Ibuprofen

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

Reported for Watercress but not commonly for Ibuprofen: stomach pain, a skin rash, hives and diarrhea.

Effects for Ibuprofen come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Watercress come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 283,500 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Ibuprofen 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

Watercress in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy Likely Unsafe

When used in medicinal amounts. Watercress might stimulate menstruation or have abortifacient effects.

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Watercress 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 Watercress 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 Watercress 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 Watercress as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 820 real supplement products containing Watercress, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Watercress. Even though Watercress itself has no known interaction with Ibuprofen, 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 Watercress 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 Watercress
Top 25%

#292 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.

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 Watercress reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Watercress and Ibuprofen records this page draws on were last updated July 11, 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 Watercress

What is Watercress?

Watercress
  • Source of vitamins and minerals
  • Antioxidant support
  • General nutrition
  • Traditional cough and congestion remedy
  • Skin and detox tonics

Watercress is a nutrient-rich leafy green that provides vitamins A, C, and K plus minerals and antioxidant plant compounds. Eaten as a food it is generally safe and healthy for most people, but strong human evidence for concentrated supplement health claims is limited. Talk to your pharmacist or doctor before using high-dose extracts, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have a medical condition.

Nasturtium officinale · Brassicaceae · Leaves and stems (above-ground parts) · Fresh leafy green, salad, juice, extract capsules, dried herb

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

Watercress: dosing

There is no official or standardized dose for watercress as a supplement. As a food, it is simply eaten in salads or cooked dishes in the amount you enjoy.For capsules, powders, or extracts, follow the directions on the product label, since strength varies between products. More is not always better, and concentrated extracts have not been well studied for safety.

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

Read the full Watercress 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.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Ibuprofen

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (283,500 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Fatigue 18,755 reports
Nausea 18,290 reports
Headache 16,566 reports
Arthralgia 13,469 reports
Dyspnea 13,139 reports
See full Ibuprofen drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Watercress

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

0Major
6Moderate
0Minor
2,823No known interaction
Moderate

6 interactions

No interaction 2,823 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Watercress References

The 34 references that drive our Watercress 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. Brinker F. Herb Contraindications and Drug Interactions. 2nd ed. Sandy, OR: Eclectic Medical Publications, 1998.
  3. Leclercq I, Desager JP, Horsmans Y. Inhibition of chlorzoxazone metabolism, a clinical probe for CYP2E1, by a single ingestion of watercress. Clin Pharmacol Ther 1998;64:144-9. PubMed
  4. Bolton-Smith C, Price RJ, Fenton ST, et al. Compilation of a provisional UK database for the phylloquinone (vitamin K1) content of foods. Br J Nutr 2000;83:389-99.
  5. Rondelaud, D., Dreyfuss, G., Bouteille, B., and Darde, M. L. Changes in human fasciolosis in a temperate area: about some observations over a 28-year period in central France. Parasitol.Res 2000;86(9):753-757. PubMed
  6. Sanchez-Sosa, S., Rojas-Ortega, S., Reed-San Roman, G., and Torres-Santana, M. A. [Massive hepatobiliary fascioliasis]. Rev Gastroenterol.Mex. 2000;65(4):179-183.
  7. van Daele, P. L., Madretsma, G. S., and van Agtmael, M. A. [Stomach ache and fever after consumption of watercress in Turkey: fascioliasis]. Ned.Tijdschr.Geneeskd. 9-29-2001;145(39):1896-1899.
  8. Cosme, A., Ojeda, E., Cilla, G., Torrado, J., Alzate, L., Beristain, X., Orive, V., and Arenas, J. [Fasciola hepatica. study of a series of 37 patients]. Gastroenterol.Hepatol. 2001;24(8):375-380.
  9. Martinez-Bebert, K., Rodriguez-Baez, R., Pila-Perez, R., Pila-Pelaez, R., and Tamakloe, K. [Hepatic hematoma caused by fascioliasis]. Gac.Med Mex. 2002;138(3):271-274.
  10. Dreyfuss, G., Vignoles, P., Abrous, M., and Rondelaud, D. Unusual snail species involved in the transmission of Fasciola hepatica in watercress beds in central France. Parasite 2002;9(2):113-120.
  11. Christmann, M., Henrich, R., Mayer, G., and Ell, C. [Infection with fasciola hepatica causing elevated liver-enzyme results and eosinophilia - serologic and endoscopic diagnosis and therapy]. Z.Gastroenterol. 2002;40(9):801-806.
  12. Cosme, A., Ojeda, E., Poch, M., Bujanda, L., Castiella, A., and Fernandez, J. Sonographic findings of hepatic lesions in human fascioliasis. J Clin Ultrasound 2003;31(7):358-363. PubMed
  13. Sapunar, J., Latorre, R., Guerra, M., and Defilippi, C. [Clinical considerations on 2 cases of hepatic fascioliasis. Importance of the imaging examinations]. Bol.Chil.Parasitol. 1992;47(3-4):70-76.
  14. de Gorgolas, M., Torres, R., Verdejo, C., Garay, J., Robledo, A., Ponte, M. C., and Fernandez Guerrero, M. L. [Fasciola hepatica infestation. Biopathology and new diagnostic and therapeutic aspects]. Enferm.Infecc.Microbiol.Clin 1992;10(9):514-519.
  15. Carrada-Bravo, T. [Fascioliasis: diagnosis, epidemiology and treatment]. Rev Gastroenterol.Mex. 2003;68(2):135-142.

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 Watercress and Ibuprofen Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Watercress with Ibuprofen?
We do not list a known interaction between Watercress and Ibuprofen. 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 Watercress and Ibuprofen 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.
How was the Watercress and Ibuprofen combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Ibuprofen is filed under 10 classifications, and Watercress has documented interactions with 3 drug classes — none of Ibuprofen'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 Watercress interact with any other medications?
Yes. Watercress has 6 documented drug interactions in our database — Ibuprofen 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 Ibuprofen interact with any supplements?
Yes. Ibuprofen has documented interactions with 286 supplements in our database — Watercress is not one of them. The Ibuprofen interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

Still Have a Question About Ibuprofen and Watercress?

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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.