Drug & supplement interaction

American Elder + Botulinum Toxin Type A

Botulinum Toxin Type A brand name: Botox.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between American Elder and Botulinum Toxin Type A 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.

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Interaction report

American Elder and Botulinum Toxin Type A

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 Botulinum Toxin Type A and American Elder 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.

American Elder safety at a glance

American Elder overall Use caution Cooked ripe berries and flowers are generally well tolerated, but raw or unripe berries and other plant parts can be toxic.
Pregnancy Likely Unsafe When the leaves, stems, or unripe fruit are used orally. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of the flower or cooked fruit dur... Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Likely Unsafe When the leaves, stems, or unripe fruit are used orally. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of the flower or cooked fruit dur... 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 Botulinum Toxin Type A and American Elder? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
Keep it in perspective

American Elder Does Interact With Other Medications

American Elder has 644 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Botulinum Toxin Type A 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 American Elder

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

What to actually watch for

What American Elder Itself Has Been Linked To

This is not an interaction — nothing below involves Botulinum Toxin Type A. It is the side-effect record for American Elder on its own, from the licensed Natural Medicines monograph. If something new turns up after you add American Elder, this list is the first place to look.

  • Numbness or tingling / Dizziness Additional detail

    “Orally, ingesting several glasses of American elderberry juice has been reported to cause weakness, dizziness, numbness, and stupor (6).”

    American Elder · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in vertigo.

    1 source cited
    1. 6. The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, MO: Wolters Kluwer Co., 1999.
  • Vomiting / Nausea Additional detail

    “Orally, ingesting several glasses of American elderberry juice has been reported to cause nausea and vomiting (6).”

    American Elder · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in nausea and vomiting.

    1 source cited
    1. 6. The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, MO: Wolters Kluwer Co., 1999.

Everything above comes from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record for American Elder — expand a row for the licensed statement it rests on. We haven’t matched Botulinum Toxin Type A to its FDA label in our system yet, so we can’t compare its own side-effect list here — the leaflet that comes with your prescription is the authoritative list for Botulinum Toxin Type A.

Special populations

American Elder in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy And Lactation Likely Unsafe

When the leaves, stems, or unripe fruit are used orally. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of the flower or cooked fruit during pregnancy or lactation; 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

Overlapping uses

What Botulinum Toxin Type A Is Prescribed For, and What American Elder Has Been Studied For

These two come up together because they touch the same health topic — not because they do the same job. Botulinum Toxin Type A is a prescription medicine with approved uses on its FDA label. American Elder is a supplement: what follows is what researchers have looked at it for, and how strong that evidence is.

Botulinum Toxin Type A is prescribed for: Botox is approved to treat a wide range of conditions in adults and some children. These include overactive bladder (OAB) with urge incontinence, urinary incontinence caused by nerve-related bladder overactivity (in adults and in children aged 5 and older), prevention of headaches in adults with chronic migraine (15 or more headache days per month), muscle stiffness (spasticity) in patients aged 2 and older, cervical dystonia (abnormal head position and neck pain), severe underarm sweating (primary axillary hyperhidrosis) when topical treatments haven't worked, eyelid spasms (blepharospasm) in patients aged 12 and older, and crossed eyes (strabismus) in patients aged 12 and older. BOTOX Cosmetic is a separate product containing the same active ingredient but with its own approved cosmetic uses. Both products are given by injection and are not interchangeable with other botulinum toxin products.

Read the rest of what Botulinum Toxin Type A is prescribed for

Botox has not been shown to work for episodic migraine (14 or fewer headache days per month), and its safety for excessive sweating in body areas other than the underarms has not been established.

American Elder has been studied for:

  • Headache studied, not established American Elder has been studied for this. Natural Medicines rates the evidence: Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Read what the research shows

    American Elder for headache

    Although there has been interest in using oral American elder for headache, there is insufficient reliable information about the clinical effects of American elder for this purpose.

Effectiveness ratings and the research summaries above are the verbatim record from the Natural Medicines database, which grades evidence from “Effective” down to “Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate”. A rating below the top of that scale means researchers have looked at it — not that it works, and never that it can stand in for a prescribed medicine. Do not stop or replace Botulinum Toxin Type A on your own; if you are taking American Elder for the same health topic, tell your prescriber, especially if the medicine is being adjusted to a target.

From our Q&A

Questions About American Elder or Botulinum Toxin Type A

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers American Elder or Botulinum Toxin Type A, 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.

One more smart check

Taking American Elder as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 61 real supplement products containing American Elder, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides American Elder. Even though American Elder itself has no known interaction with Botulinum Toxin Type A, another ingredient on your label might. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where American Elder and Botulinum Toxin Type A 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 American Elder
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Botulinum Toxin Type A
Top 25%

#297 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 American Elder reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The American Elder and Botulinum Toxin Type A 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 American Elder

What is American Elder?

American Elder
  • Cold and flu symptoms
  • Immune support
  • Fever and congestion (traditional)
  • Constipation (traditional)
  • Antioxidant support

American elder is a North American plant whose cooked, ripe berries and flowers are used mainly for colds, flu, and general immune support. The science behind these uses is limited and most studies focus on the closely related European black elder (Sambucus nigra), so benefits are uncertain. Only properly prepared berries and flowers should be used, since raw berries, leaves, bark, and seeds can cause poisoning.

Sambucus canadensis · Adoxaceae · Ripe berries (fruit) and flowers; other parts are considered unsafe · Syrups, capsules, gummies, lozenges, teas, tinctures, juices, and jams

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

American Elder: dosing

There is no official standardized dose for American elder, and products vary widely in strength and form. Syrups, gummies, capsules, and teas all contain different amounts of elderberry.The safest approach is to follow the directions on the product label and not exceed the recommended amount.

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

Read the full American Elder monograph & all interactions
Medication

About OnabotulinumtoxinA Injection

What Is OnabotulinumtoxinA Injection Used For?

Brand name: Botox

Botox is approved to treat a wide range of conditions in adults and some children. These include overactive bladder (OAB) with urge incontinence, urinary incontinence caused by nerve-related bladder overactivity (in adults and in children aged 5 and older), prevention of headaches in adults with chronic migraine (15 or more headache days per month), muscle stiffness (spasticity) in patients aged 2 and older, cervical dystonia (abnormal head position and neck pain), severe underarm sweating (primary axillary hyperhidrosis) when topical treatments haven't worked, eyelid spasms (blepharospasm) in patients aged 12 and older, and crossed eyes (strabismus) in patients aged 12 and older.

BOTOX Cosmetic is a separate product containing the same active ingredient but with its own approved cosmetic uses. Both products are given by injection and are not interchangeable with other botulinum toxin products. Botox has not been shown to work for episodic migraine (14 or fewer headache days per month), and its safety for excessive sweating in body areas other than the underarms has not been established.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Botulinum Toxin Type A

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (12,344 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Headache 1,596 reports
Drug intolerance 1,333 reports
Nausea 1,266 reports
Migraine 1,176 reports
Dizziness 1,126 reports
See full OnabotulinumtoxinA Injection drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & American Elder

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

0Major
644Moderate
0Minor
2,185No known interaction
Moderate

644 interactions

Showing 60 of 644 moderate interactions — see all 644 on the American Elder page.

No interaction 2,185 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

American Elder References

The 2 references that drive our American Elder 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. Budzinski JW, Foster BC, Vandenhoek S, Arnason JT. An in vitro evaluation of human cytochrome P450 3A4 inhibition by selected commercial herbal extracts and tinctures. Phytomedicine 2000;7:273-82. 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 American Elder and Botulinum Toxin Type A Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take American Elder with Botulinum Toxin Type A?
We do not list a known interaction between American Elder and Botulinum Toxin Type A. 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.
Are American Elder and Botulinum Toxin Type A used for the same thing?
They overlap in purpose, which usually means the real question is whether you need both rather than whether they are safe together. This page lists the shared uses and how strong the evidence is for American Elder in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Botulinum Toxin Type A is being adjusted to a target.
Does American Elder interact with any other medications?
Yes. American Elder has 644 documented drug interactions in our database — Botulinum Toxin Type A is simply not one of them. If you take anything else, it is worth checking each one; they are all listed on this page.

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

Still Have a Question About Botulinum Toxin Type A and American Elder?

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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.