Drug & supplement interaction

Ambrette + Colestipol

Colestipol brand name: Colestid.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Ambrette and Colestipol 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 Colestipol 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

Ambrette and Colestipol

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 Colestipol and Ambrette 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.

Ambrette safety at a glance

Ambrette overall Use caution Limited human safety data exist, so use cautiously and mainly as a fragrance or flavoring.
Pregnancy Avoid Not enough safety data, so it is best avoided during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Possibly Unsafe When used orally or topically. Ambrette passes into mother's milk, but the effect is unknown. 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 Colestipol and Ambrette? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Colestipol

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Colestipol is filed under 2 classifications — bile acid sequestrants, oral drugs. Ambrette has documented interactions with 1 drug class — the most serious being antidiabetes drugs (moderate) — and none of Colestipol’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

Ambrette Does Interact With Other Medications

Ambrette has 86 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Colestipol 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 Ambrette

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Ambrette and Colestipol 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.

  • A skin rash Additional detail

    Ambrette

    “Topically, ambrette has been reported to cause contact dermatitis and photosensitivity (6,31100).”

    Ambrette · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in dermatitis.

    2 sources cited
    1. 6. The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, MO: Wolters Kluwer Co., 1999.
    2. 31100. Wojnarowska, F. and Calnan, C. D. Contact and photocontact allergy to musk ambrette. Br.J.Dermatol. 1986;114(6):667-675. PubMed

    Colestipol

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

Reported for Ambrette but not commonly for Colestipol: sun sensitivity.

Effects for Colestipol come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Ambrette come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Wording is matched across sources by our own clinical vocabulary, so treat this as a prompt to pay attention, not a diagnosis.

Special populations

Ambrette in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Lactation Possibly Unsafe

When used orally or topically. Ambrette passes into mother's milk, but the effect is unknown.

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 Colestipol Products Have a Food Rule — Ambrette Should Not Break It

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

Patients should take other drugs at least one hour before or four hours after colestipol hydrochloride tablets to minimize possible interference with their absorption.

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Ambrette or Colestipol

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Ambrette or Colestipol, 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 Colestipol

This page covers Ambrette only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Colestipol page lists 18 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Coffee Charcoal (moderate), European Mandrake (moderate), Glucomannan (moderate) and Guar Gum (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 8 moderate · 9 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Colestipol page

“Take colestipol (Colestid), a cholesterol drug that works by trapping bile acids in your gut, and nearly every one of the 18 supplement interactions on file comes down to absorption. Only one rates major, activated charcoal, and it belongs at the top of your reading.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Colestipol interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Ambrette and Colestipol 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 Ambrette
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Colestipol
Top half

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

What is Ambrette?

Ambrette
  • Fragrance and aromatherapy
  • Digestive complaints
  • Respiratory complaints
  • Skin irritation
  • Insect repellent (traditional)

Ambrette (Abelmoschus moschatus) is a fragrant plant best known for its musky seed oil used in perfumes and food flavoring. It has a long history in traditional medicine for digestion, breathing problems, and skin issues, but solid human studies supporting these uses are lacking. If you want to try it, talk with your pharmacist or doctor first, and avoid use during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Abelmoschus moschatus · Malvaceae · Seeds and seed essential oil · Essential oil, seed extracts, perfume/fragrance products, food flavoring

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

Ambrette: dosing

There is no established standardized dose for ambrette as a supplement or medicine. Amounts used in foods and fragrances are small, and these uses have not been studied as treatments.If you choose to use an ambrette product, follow the directions on the label and do not exceed the recommended amount.

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

Read the full Ambrette monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Colestipol

What Is Colestipol Used For?

Brand name: Colestid

Colestipol — available as oral suspension and tablets under brands including Colestid, Flavored Colestid, and Colestipol Hydrochloride — is used as part of a broader treatment plan (including diet) to lower elevated LDL cholesterol in adults with primary hypercholesterolemia (a condition where LDL cholesterol stays high despite dietary changes).

It is not a standalone fix. Diet, weight management, and other lifestyle changes come first, and colestipol is added when those steps alone aren't enough to reach target LDL levels.

See full Colestipol drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Ambrette

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

0Major
86Moderate
0Minor
2,743No known interaction
Moderate

86 interactions

Showing 60 of 86 moderate interactions — see all 86 on the Ambrette page.

No interaction 2,743 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Ambrette References

The 6 references that drive our Ambrette 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. The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, MO: Wolters Kluwer Co., 1999.
  2. Liu, I. M., Liou, S. S., Lan, T. W., Hsu, F. L., and Cheng, J. T. Myricetin as the active principle of Abelmoschus moschatus to lower plasma glucose in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Planta Med. 2005;71(7):617-621.
  3. Liu, I. M., Liou, S. S., and Cheng, J. T. Mediation of beta-endorphin by myricetin to lower plasma glucose in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. J.Ethnopharmacol. 3-8-2006;104(1-2):199-206.
  4. Liu, I. M., Tzeng, T. F., Liou, S. S., and Lan, T. W. Improvement of insulin sensitivity in obese Zucker rats by myricetin extracted from Abelmoschus moschatus. Planta Med. 2007;73(10):1054-1060.
  5. Wojnarowska, F. and Calnan, C. D. Contact and photocontact allergy to musk ambrette. Br.J.Dermatol. 1986;114(6):667-675. PubMed
  6. Liu IM, Tzeng TF, Liou SS. Abelmoschus moschatus (Malvaceae), an aromatic plant, suitable for medical or food uses to improve insulin sensitivity. Phytother Res 2010;24(2):233-9.

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 Ambrette and Colestipol Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Ambrette with Colestipol?
We do not list a known interaction between Ambrette and Colestipol. 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 Ambrette and Colestipol 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 Ambrette and Colestipol at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Colestipol 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 Colestipol on its own and move Ambrette 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.
How was the Ambrette and Colestipol combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Colestipol is filed under 2 classifications, and Ambrette has documented interactions with 1 drug class — none of Colestipol'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 Ambrette interact with any other medications?
Yes. Ambrette has 86 documented drug interactions in our database — Colestipol 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 Colestipol interact with any supplements?
Yes. Colestipol has documented interactions with 18 supplements in our database — Ambrette is not one of them. The Colestipol 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 Colestipol and Ambrette?

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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.