Drug & supplement interaction

African Wild Potato + Agomelatine

Agomelatine brand name: Valdoxan.

Moderate Interaction
The bottom line Moderate

Agomelatine falls into 2 drug categories that African Wild Potato can interact with; the most serious is rated moderate. In vitro research shows that African wild potato extract inhibits cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2).

Read the full interaction report
SeverityModerate
LikelihoodPossible
Interactions2
EvidenceD
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

African Wild Potato and Agomelatine

These two interact in 2 distinct ways. Each one is explained separately below.

Why Are There 2 Interactions?

African Wild Potato interacts with whole categories of medication. Agomelatine falls into 2 of those categories, so it can interact with African Wild Potato in 2 different ways. We’ve listed each one below — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them (Moderate).

Moderate

CYTOCHROME P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) SUBSTRATES

1 of 2

Why this applies to Agomelatine

Agomelatine falls under CYTOCHROME P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) SUBSTRATES — the group African Wild Potato interacts with.

In vitro research shows that African wild potato extract inhibits cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2). However, this effect has yet to be reported in humans. Until more is known, use with caution. Theoretically, concomitant use of African wild potato with CYP1A2 substrates might increase the risk for adverse effects from these substrates. Some of these drugs include amitriptyline (Elavil), haloperidol (Haldol), ondansetron (Zofran), propranolol (Inderal), theophylline (Theo-Dur, others), verapamil (Calan, Isoptin, others), and others.
Severity Moderate Likelihood Possible Evidence D

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.

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here's the gist for agomelatine (Valdoxan). Your liver relies heavily on an enzyme called CYP1A2 to break this medication down, and lab studies suggest African Wild Potato can slow that same enzyme. If the enzyme works slower, agomelatine could clear out of your body less efficiently and build up higher than expected. That might mean more of its usual effects, like daytime drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, or headache. There's also a small chance of stressing the liver, which is already something to watch with this drug.

I want to be honest about the strength of this concern: it's based only on test-tube research, not real people, so it's theoretical for now. Still, since agomelatine leans so much on CYP1A2, I'd loop in your doctor or pharmacist before combining them.

References
  1. Fasinu PS, Gutmann H, Schiller H, Bouic PJ, Rosenkranz B. The potential of Hypoxis hemerocallidea for herb-drug interaction. Pharm Biol. 2013 Dec;51(12):1499-507.
Moderate

CYTOCHROME P450 2C9 (CYP2C9) SUBSTRATES

2 of 2

Agomelatine also falls under CYTOCHROME P450 2C9 (CYP2C9) SUBSTRATES.

In vitro research shows that African wild potato extract inhibits cytochrome P450 2C9 (CYP2C9). However, this effect has yet to be reported in humans. Until more is known, use with caution. Theoretically, concomitant use of African wild potato with CYP2C9 substrates might increase the risk for adverse effects from these substrates. Some of these drugs include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as diclofenac (Cataflam, Voltaren), ibuprofen (Motrin), meloxicam (Mobic), and piroxicam (Feldene); celecoxib (Celebrex); amitriptyline (Elavil); warfarin (Coumadin); glipizide (Glucotrol); losartan (Cozaar); and others.
Severity Moderate Likelihood Possible Evidence D

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.

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here's the gist of it. Your body relies on a liver enzyme called CYP2C9 to help break down agomelatine and clear it out. In lab tests (test tube only, not in real people yet), African wild potato seems to slow that enzyme down. If that happened in your body, agomelatine could clear out a little slower and build up, which might mean more of its usual effects, like daytime drowsiness, dizziness, headache, or nausea.

I want to be honest about the strength of this, though. This is only based on early laboratory work, so it's more of a theoretical caution than a proven problem. Still, with agomelatine your doctor already watches liver enzymes closely, so I'd loop in your pharmacist or doctor before combining the two rather than guessing.

References
  1. Fasinu PS, Gutmann H, Schiller H, Bouic PJ, Rosenkranz B. The potential of Hypoxis hemerocallidea for herb-drug interaction. Pharm Biol. 2013 Dec;51(12):1499-507.

What These Ratings Mean

Every interaction above is graded three ways — here’s the key to each label.

Severity how clinically significant the interaction is
Major

Clinically significant. Avoid the combination, or use only under close professional supervision.

Moderate

Usually worth avoiding or managing — may need monitoring, a dose change, or timing apart.

Minor

Generally not serious. Be aware of it and mention it to your pharmacist.

Likelihood how strong the evidence is that the interaction actually happens in people
  • LikelyWell-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction.
  • ProbableInteraction 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.
  • PossibleInteraction 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.
  • UnlikelyInteraction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.
Evidence the quality of the studies behind the rating (graded A–D)
  • AHigh-quality meta-analysis (quantitative systematic review).
  • BCase-control study.
  • CConsensus.
  • DAnecdotal evidence.

These ratings are for information only. Never start, stop, or otherwise change your therapy before speaking with your provider.

Keep it in perspective

African Wild Potato Also Interacts With Other Medications

African Wild Potato has 1,004 moderate known drug interactions in our database — the Agomelatine one above is among them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against African Wild Potato

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

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Agomelatine

This page covers African Wild Potato only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Agomelatine page lists 135 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Adrafinil (moderate), Artichoke (moderate), Ashitaba (moderate) and Bacopa (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 94 moderate · 40 minor.

Open the Agomelatine interaction page

One more smart check

Taking African Wild Potato as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 1 real supplement products containing African Wild Potato, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides African Wild Potato. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Agomelatine too, on top of African Wild Potato — and those would not show on this page. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where African Wild Potato and Agomelatine 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 African Wild Potato
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Agomelatine
Steady interest

#2,039 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.

Supplement

About African Wild Potato

What is African Wild Potato?

  • Immune support
  • Prostate and urinary symptoms
  • Inflammation
  • General tonic/wellness
  • Skin conditions

African Wild Potato (Hypoxis hemerocallidea) is a southern African plant traditionally used as a tonic and for immune, prostate, and inflammatory complaints. Human evidence for these uses is very limited, and safety—especially during pregnancy, breastfeeding, or with serious illness—is not well established. Talk to a pharmacist or doctor before using it.

Read the full African Wild Potato monograph & all interactions
Keep checking

Other Drugs & African Wild Potato

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

0Major
1,004Moderate
0Minor
1,825No known interaction
Moderate

1,004 interactions

Showing 60 of 1,004 moderate interactions — see all 1,004 on the African Wild Potato page.

No interaction 1,825 drugs checked — show the list
Sources

Sources & How We Checked

Interaction details are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database. The medication overview comes from MedlinePlus.

Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists. See our data sources and editorial standards for how this information is built and checked.

Parts of this content are provided by the Therapeutic Research Center, LLC.

DISCLAIMER: Currently this does not check for drug-drug interactions. This is not an all-inclusive comprehensive list of potential interactions and is for informational purposes only. Not all interactions are known or well-reported in the scientific literature, and new interactions are continually being reported. Input is needed from a qualified healthcare provider including a pharmacist before starting any therapy. Application of clinical judgment is necessary.

© 2021 Therapeutic Research Center, LLC

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Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking African Wild Potato and Agomelatine Together: Common Questions

Can you take African Wild Potato with Agomelatine?
There is a moderate interaction, so it may be acceptable with monitoring or timing changes — but check with your pharmacist first. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
Why are there 2 interactions listed for African Wild Potato and Agomelatine?
Agomelatine belongs to more than one drug category, and African Wild Potato interacts with each of those categories a little differently. We list every one so nothing is missed — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them.
How serious is the African Wild Potato and Agomelatine interaction?
We rate it Moderate. This combination may require monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separating the times you take each one. Consult your pharmacist before using them together.

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

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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.