Is Echinacea Safe with Cisplatin (DDP)?
Free · No account · based on published sources including NIH ODS, FDA drug labels, and peer-reviewed literature
Patients undergoing cisplatin-based chemotherapy should avoid self-medicating with Echinacea without oncologist approval. The potential cancer cell-proliferative properties of Echinacea may reduce the effectiveness of cisplatin therapy.
Why this interaction occurs
Echinacea extracts showed growth-promoting effects in cancer cell lines (HeLa, QBC-939, HUVEC), potentially mediated by chicoric acid. This proliferative activity may interfere with the cytotoxic goals of cisplatin-based regimens.
Evidence
Evidence level: limited.
Data source
PubMed - PMID 27114944
Reported safety data
The FDA’s adverse event reporting system (FAERS) has received 80,791 reports mentioning Cisplatin (DDP). This reflects reported cases involving the medication in general — not confirmed causation, and not specific to the Cisplatin (DDP) + supplement combination on this page.
FAERS reports are voluntary and cannot prove that a drug caused an event. Do not use report counts to assess the safety of this specific drug-supplement pair.
Frequently asked questions
Related interactions
All Echinacea interactions → · All Cisplatin (DDP) interactions →
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Educational only — not medical advice.
Always confirm with your doctor or pharmacist.