Herb & supplement monograph

Sea Buckthorn Drug Interactions, Uses, Effectiveness, Safety & More

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS ·Updated July 2026

What is this page for?

First and foremost: how Sea Buckthorn interacts with medications. The heart of this page is the interaction list — every drug Sea Buckthorn is known to interact with, and how serious each one is.

But these pages have grown well beyond that into a full monograph — what Sea Buckthorn is, what people use it for and how strong the evidence is, its safety and side effects, and answers to the questions we’re asked most — written and reviewed by the clinical staff at HelloPharmacist. It’s educational information from our licensed clinical databases, not medical advice, and we don’t sell or endorse products. Our editorial policy

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On this page

Interaction report

Drugs that interact with Sea Buckthorn

289 medications have a known interaction with Sea Buckthorn, graded by severity. Select any drug for the full evidence-based detail.

Don’t want to scroll the list? Just ask.

Tell us the medications you take and we’ll check each one against Sea Buckthorn using our pharmacist-reviewed interaction data.

AI summaries are generated from our Sea Buckthorn interaction data for education only — always confirm with your pharmacist. How we use AI

2,830 drugs

Read The List Like a Pharmacist

What Severity, Likelihood & Evidence Mean

Severity — How Serious It Can Be

Major. Clinically significant; generally best avoided, or used only under direct professional supervision.
Moderate. May need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separating the times you take each one.
Minor. Generally not clinically significant, but still worth noting and mentioning to your pharmacist.
No known interaction. Checked against our sources with nothing documented — not the same as proven safety.

Likelihood — How Well It’s Documented

Likely. Well-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction
Probable. Interaction 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.
Possible. 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
Unlikely. Interaction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.

Where This Data Comes From

Interaction records are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database (TRC Healthcare), the same reference used by pharmacists and hospitals.
Each drug listed above links to the full report for that exact Sea Buckthorn combination — clinical detail, likelihood, evidence level, and citations.
Content is reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

The big picture

The kinds of drugs Sea Buckthorn affects

Every type of medication (drug category) Sea Buckthorn is known to interact with. Open any category for the detail — or search your exact drug in the checker above.

All 2 drug categories Sea Buckthorn interacts with

Anticoagulant/antiplatelet DrugsAntihypertensive Drugs

Anticoagulant/Antiplatelet Drugs

Theoretically, sea buckthorn may increase the risk of bleeding if used with anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs.
Clinical research suggests that sea buckthorn fruit extracts can inhibit platelet aggregation and adhesion to collagen and fibrinogen.

Likelihood Possible Evidence B

Antihypertensive Drugs

Theoretically, taking sea buckthorn with antihypertensive drugs might increase the risk of hypotension.
Taking sea buckthorn appears to reduce blood pressure in some patients.

Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Monograph

Sea Buckthorn: Uses, Safety & Side Effects

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS · Reviewed July 2026 ·

The bottom line

Sea buckthorn is a berry-bearing shrub rich in vitamins, carotenoids, and fatty acids that people use for skin, eye, digestive, and heart health. Early research is promising for a few uses like dry skin and dry eye, but most claims are not yet proven. It is generally well tolerated as a food, but talk to your pharmacist before using concentrated supplements.

Scientific name: Hippophae rhamnoides
Family: Elaeagnaceae
Part used: Berries (fruit), seeds, seed and fruit oil, and sometimes leaves
Common forms: Capsules, softgels, oil (seed or fruit), juice, powder, teas, topical creams and ointments

People commonly use it for

Skin health and dryness
Dry eye symptoms
Digestive complaints
Heart and cholesterol support
General antioxidant and immune support

Popular and traditional uses — not proof it works. See “Uses & effectiveness” below for the evidence.

Safety at a glance

OverallUse caution

Generally well tolerated as a food, but supplement safety has not been fully studied.

PregnancyInsufficient reliable information

Insufficient reliable information available; avoid using.

Read the full pregnancy detail

BreastfeedingInsufficient reliable information

Insufficient reliable information available; avoid using.

Read the full breastfeeding detail

Pregnancy & breastfeeding ratings are from Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center). Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

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Overview

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) is a thorny shrub that grows in parts of Europe and Asia, including mountainous and coastal regions. It produces small orange or yellow berries that have been used as a food and folk remedy for centuries.

The berries are naturally high in vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids, flavonoids, and unsaturated fatty acids. Because of this, sea buckthorn is often marketed as an antioxidant-rich supplement.

Today people take sea buckthorn as oil, capsules, juice, powder, or tea, and they also apply it to the skin in creams and ointments. Different products may use the berry pulp, the seeds, or oil pressed from either part.

How it works

Sea buckthorn is rich in compounds that may have antioxidant effects. These include vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids (such as beta-carotene), and plant chemicals called flavonoids. Antioxidants can help protect cells from a type of damage called oxidative stress.

The seeds and pulp also contain unsaturated fatty acids, including omega-3, omega-6, and the less common omega-7 (palmitoleic acid). Researchers think these fats may play a role in skin and mucous membrane health.

Much of what we know about how sea buckthorn works comes from laboratory and animal studies. These early findings help explain the proposed benefits, but they do not prove that sea buckthorn works the same way in people.

Effectiveness

Does Sea Buckthorn work?

Here’s what the research actually shows for each use — graded by Natural Medicines and reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD.

Evidence overview · 28 uses evaluated

1 Possibly effective 1 Leans ineffective 26 Insufficient evidence

How to read these evidence grades

Natural Medicines’ 7-point scale. We show each rating’s label word-for-word.

1EffectiveStrong, consistent evidence it works.

2Likely EffectiveGood evidence, though not yet conclusive.

3Possibly EffectiveSome evidence suggests a benefit.

4Possibly IneffectiveSome evidence it may not help.

5Likely IneffectiveFairly strong evidence it doesn’t help.

6IneffectiveStrong evidence it doesn’t work.

7Insufficient Reliable Evidence to RateToo little research to say either way.

Possibly Effective Burns