Drug & supplement interaction

American Ginseng + abatacept

abatacept brand name: Orencia.

Moderate Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated September 2026
The bottom line Moderate

American Ginseng has a moderate interaction with abatacept. Theoretically, American ginseng use might interfere with immunosuppressive therapy.

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

American Ginseng and abatacept

Here is the interaction we found between these two, with the evidence behind it.

Moderate

IMMUNOSUPPRESSANTS

Why this applies to abatacept

abatacept falls under IMMUNOSUPPRESSANTS — the group American Ginseng interacts with.

Theoretically, American ginseng use might interfere with immunosuppressive therapy.
American ginseng seems to stimulate immune function. Theoretically, American ginseng might decrease the effectiveness of immunosuppressant drugs.
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 idea behind this one. Abatacept (Orencia) works by calming down an overactive immune system to ease the pain, swelling, and joint damage of rheumatoid arthritis. American ginseng, on the other hand, is thought to do the opposite and gently stimulate immune activity. So in theory, the two could work against each other, and the concern is that ginseng might chip away at how well your abatacept controls your arthritis, potentially letting symptoms like joint pain and stiffness creep back.

I want to be upfront: this is a theoretical concern based on how ginseng seems to act, not on solid studies in people taking abatacept. Still, since you're relying on this medication to keep your immune system in check, it's worth a quick chat with your pharmacist or rheumatologist before adding ginseng. Don't change anything on your own.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. McElhaney JE, Gravenstein S, Cole SK, et al. A Placebo-Controlled Trial of a Proprietary Extract of North American Ginseng (CVT-E002) to Prevent Acute Respiratory Illness in Institutionalized Older Adults. J Am Geriatr Soc 2004;52:13-9. PubMed
  2. Predy GN, Goel V, Lovlin R, et al. Efficacy of an extract of North American ginseng containing poly-furanosyl-pyranosyl-saccharides for preventing upper respiratory tract infections: a randomized controlled trial. CMAJ 2005;173:1043-8.. PubMed
  3. McElhaney JE, Goel V, Toane B, et al. Efficacy of COLD-fX in the prevention of respiratory symptoms in community-dwelling adults: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo controlled trial. J Altern Complement Med 2006;12:153-7. PubMed
  4. Predy GN, Goel V, Lovlin RE, et al. Immune modulating effects of daily supplementation of COLD-fX (a proprietary extract of North American ginseng) in healthy adults. J Clin Biochem Nutr 2006;39:162-167. DOI

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

American Ginseng Also Interacts With Other Medications

American Ginseng has 2 major, 214 moderate known drug interactions in our database — the abatacept one above is one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Major 2 Moderate 214 No known interaction 2,614 (incl. abatacept)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against American Ginseng

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

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With abatacept

This page covers American Ginseng only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the abatacept page lists 53 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Active Hexose Correlated Compound (ahcc) (moderate), Alfalfa (moderate), Andrographis (moderate), Ashwagandha (moderate) and Astragalus (moderate).

By severity: 52 moderate · 1 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the abatacept page

“Abatacept (Orencia) treats rheumatoid arthritis and related conditions by dialing down immune activity, so the supplements that matter here are the ones pulling in the opposite direction. All 53 ingredients on this list share that single theme: herbs and mushrooms with immune-stimulating properties, echinacea, ashwagandha, and astragal…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the abatacept interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 992 real supplement products containing American Ginseng, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides American Ginseng. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with abatacept too, on top of American Ginseng — 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 American Ginseng and abatacept 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 Ginseng
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication abatacept
Steady interest

#2,238 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 American Ginseng

What is American Ginseng?

American Ginseng
  • Stress and energy support
  • Immune support and colds
  • Blood sugar management
  • Mental focus and clarity
  • General wellness (adaptogen)

American ginseng is an herbal root used as an 'adaptogen' to support energy, stress, immune function, and blood sugar. Some uses—such as reducing the chance or length of colds and modestly lowering after-meal blood sugar—have early supportive evidence, but most claims are not well proven. Talk to your pharmacist or doctor before use, especially if you have a health condition or take medications.

Read the full American Ginseng monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Abatacept Injection

What Is Abatacept Injection Used For?

Brand name: Orencia

Orencia is approved for adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and adults and children 2 years and older with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or moderately to severely active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pJIA) — a type of arthritis that affects multiple joints in children.

Orencia is also used, alongside two other medicines (a calcineurin inhibitor and methotrexate), to prevent acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD) — a serious immune reaction — in adults and children 2 and older who receive a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor.

See full Abatacept Injection drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & American Ginseng

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

2Major
214Moderate
0Minor
2,613No known interaction
2 Major 214 Moderate 2,613 No interaction
Major

2 interactions

Moderate

214 interactions

Showing 60 of 214 moderate interactions — see all 214 on the American Ginseng page.

No interaction 2,613 drugs checked — show the list

We also checked American Ginseng against these medications and found no known interaction in our sources. Open any page to confirm.

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,613 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full American Ginseng list.

See the full American Ginseng interactions page
See every supplement checked against abatacept, ranked by severity
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

Keep exploring
American Ginseng monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place abatacept supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against abatacept, ranked by severity Abatacept Injection drug information › The full plain-English guide to this medication Supplement interaction checker › Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z › Every drug we've checked against herbs & supplements Ask a pharmacist › Free, personal answer from our licensed team
Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking American Ginseng and abatacept Together: Common Questions

Can you take American Ginseng with abatacept?
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.
How serious is the American Ginseng and abatacept 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

Still Have a Question About abatacept and American Ginseng?

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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.