Drug & supplement interaction

Ackee + Tasimelteon

Tasimelteon brand names: Hetlioz, Hetlioz Lq.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Ackee and Tasimelteon 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 Tasimelteon 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

Ackee and Tasimelteon

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 Tasimelteon and Ackee 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 Ackee at all — not against Tasimelteon, 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.

Ackee safety at a glance

Ackee overall Use caution Ripe, properly prepared fruit is eaten as food, but unripe fruit and seeds are dangerously toxic.
Pregnancy Unsafe When the unripe fruit is ingested. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of the ripe fruit during pregnancy and breast-feeding;... Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Unsafe When the unripe fruit is ingested. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of the ripe fruit during pregnancy and breast-feeding;... 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 Tasimelteon and Ackee? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Ackee and Tasimelteon May Share a Side Effect

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.

  • Liver problems Worth acting on Additional detail

    Ackee

    “Orally, consumption of ripe ackee fruit is well tolerated. However, consumption of unripe ackee is unsafe.

    Serious Adverse Effects (Rare):

    Orally: Consumption of unripe ackee fruit can cause severe hypoglycemia and subsequent liver damage. Unripe ackee fruit can also cause Jamaican vomiting sickness, characterized by severe bouts of vomiting, followed by seizures, coma, and death.”

    Ackee · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in epilepsy.

    “Chronic oral ingestion of canned ackee fruit has been associated with cholestatic liver disease. In a case report, chronic ackee consumption resulted in cholestatic jaundice in a 27-year-old male. The patient presented with symptoms of steatosis, jaundice, pruritis, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Toxic hypoglycemic syndrome (THS) associated with consumption of unripe ackee can ultimately result in liver damage.”

    Ackee · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in alcohol-related liver disease.

    3 sources cited
    1. 12418. Larson J, Vender R, Camuto P. Cholestatic jaundice due to ackee fruit poisoning. Am J Gastroenterol 1994;89:1577-8.
    2. 5602. Anon. Toxic hypoglycemic syndrome - Jamaica, 1989-91. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1992;41:53-5.
    3. 12416. McTague JA, Forney R Jr. Jamaican vomiting sickness in Toledo, Ohio. Ann Emerg Med 1994;23:1116-8. PubMed

    Tasimelteon

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

Reported for Ackee but not commonly for Tasimelteon: stomach pain, low blood sugar, a severe allergic reaction and hives.

Effects for Tasimelteon come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Ackee come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 5,765 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Tasimelteon 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

Ackee in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy And Lactation Unsafe

When the unripe fruit is ingested. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of the ripe fruit during pregnancy and breast-feeding; 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 Tasimelteon Products Have a Food Rule — Ackee Should Not Break It

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

2 DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION Indicated Population Dosage Form Body Weight Recommended Dosage Non-24 ( 2.2 ) Adults Capsules Not applicable 20 mg one hour prior to bedtime Nighttime sleep disturbances in SMS ( 2.3 ) Patients 16 years of age and older Capsules Not applicable 20 mg one hour prior to bedtime Pediatric Patients 3 to 15 years of age Oral Suspension ≤ 28 kg 0.7 mg/kg one hour before bedti

From the Dosage and Administration section of the FDA label we read for Tasimelteon — 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.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Tasimelteon

This page covers Ackee only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Tasimelteon page lists 218 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: 1,4-butanediol (major), Activated Charcoal (major), Beer (major), Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (ghb) (major) and Grapefruit (major).

By severity: 9 major · 166 moderate · 43 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Tasimelteon page

“Tasimelteon (Hetlioz) resets the body clock in people with non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder, and the sleep aids they often reach for, melatonin and kava among them, sit on an interaction list that deserves real respect. Nine of the 218 ingredients on file rate major, mostly in two directions: sedatives like kava stack drowsiness onto a…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Tasimelteon interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Ackee and Tasimelteon 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 Ackee
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Tasimelteon
Steady interest

#1,943 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 Ackee reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Ackee and Tasimelteon 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 Ackee

What is Ackee?

Ackee
  • Food source (cooked ripe fruit)
  • Traditional digestive remedies
  • Folk treatment for fever
  • Traditional wound and skin care
  • Folk use for aches and pains

Ackee is best known as a food — the national fruit of Jamaica — but only the fully ripe, properly prepared aril is safe to eat. Unripe ackee and its seeds contain natural toxins that can cause severe, sometimes fatal poisoning, so there is no good evidence supporting it as a medicinal supplement. If you eat ackee, use only ripe, commercially canned or properly prepared fruit.

Blighia sapida · Sapindaceae · Ripe fruit (aril); seeds, leaves, and bark used traditionally · Fresh ripe fruit, canned fruit, traditional decoctions of leaves or bark

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

Ackee: dosing

There is no established medicinal dose for ackee, and it is not recommended as a supplement. When eaten as a food, only the fully ripe, properly cleaned and cooked aril should be consumed, and seeds should never be eaten.Because there is no standardized or proven medicinal dose, and because of the real risk of poisoning, do not use ackee as a remedy.

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

Read the full Ackee monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Tasimelteon

What Is Tasimelteon Used For?

Brand names: Hetlioz, Hetlioz Lq

Tasimelteon capsules are approved to treat Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder (Non-24) in adults. Non-24 is a condition where the body's internal clock does not align with the normal 24-hour day, causing sleep and wake times to shift continuously.

Hetlioz capsules are also approved to treat nighttime sleep disturbances in Smith-Magenis Syndrome (SMS) in patients 16 years of age and older. Hetlioz LQ oral suspension is approved specifically for nighttime sleep disturbances in SMS in pediatric patients ages 3 to 15 years.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Tasimelteon

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (5,770 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Insomnia 728 reports
Middle insomnia 414 reports
Somnolence 408 reports
Headache 386 reports
Nightmare 268 reports
See full Tasimelteon drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Ackee

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Ackee — 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
No interaction 2,829 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Ackee References

The 8 references that drive our Ackee 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. Anon. Toxic hypoglycemic syndrome - Jamaica, 1989-91. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1992;41:53-5.
  2. Lebo DB, Ditto AM, Boxer MB, et al. Anaphylaxis to ackee fruit. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1996;98:997-8. PubMed
  3. Meda HA, Diallo B, Buchet JP, et al. Epidemic of fatal encephalopathy in preschool children in Burkina Faso and consumption of unripe ackee (Blighia sapida) fruit. Lancet 1999:13;353:536-40. PubMed
  4. McTague JA, Forney R Jr. Jamaican vomiting sickness in Toledo, Ohio. Ann Emerg Med 1994;23:1116-8. PubMed
  5. Larson J, Vender R, Camuto P. Cholestatic jaundice due to ackee fruit poisoning. Am J Gastroenterol 1994;89:1577-8.
  6. Joskow, R., Belson, M., Vesper, H., Backer, L., and Rubin, C. Ackee fruit poisoning: an outbreak investigation in Haiti 2000-2001, and review of the literature. Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2006;44(3):267-273. PubMed
  7. Golden, K. D., Kean, E. A., and Terry, S. I. Jamaican vomiting sickness: a study of two adult cases. Clin.Chim.Acta 10-15-1984;142(3):293-298. PubMed
  8. Katibi OS, Olaosebikan R, Abdulkadir MB, Ogunkunle TO, Ibraheem RM, Murtala R. Ackee fruit poisoning in eight siblings: implications for public health awareness. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2015;93(5):1122-3. 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 Ackee and Tasimelteon Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Ackee with Tasimelteon?
We do not list a known interaction between Ackee and Tasimelteon. 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 Ackee and Tasimelteon have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to one 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 Ackee and Tasimelteon at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Tasimelteon 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 Tasimelteon on its own and move Ackee 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.
Does Tasimelteon interact with any supplements?
Yes. Tasimelteon has documented interactions with 218 supplements in our database — Ackee is not one of them. The Tasimelteon 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 Tasimelteon and Ackee?

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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.