Drug & supplement interaction

Aristolochia + Testosterone

Testosterone brand names: Intrinsa, Testim, Androgel, Andropatch, Testogel, and others.

No Known Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 13, 2026
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Aristolochia and Testosterone 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 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

Aristolochia and Testosterone

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 Testosterone and Aristolochia 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.

Aristolochia safety at a glance

Aristolochia overall Avoid Aristolochia contains aristolochic acid, which can cause kidney failure and cancer; it should not be used.
Pregnancy Unsafe When used orally; avoid using. Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Unsafe When used orally; avoid using. 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 Testosterone and Aristolochia? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Testosterone

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Testosterone is filed under 5 classifications — including androgens, topical drugs, hepatotoxic drugs. Aristolochia has documented interactions with 1 drug class — the most serious being nephrotoxic drugs (moderate) — and none of Testosterone’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

Aristolochia Does Interact With Other Medications

Aristolochia has 355 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Testosterone isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 355 No known interaction 2,475 (incl. Testosterone)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Aristolochia

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Aristolochia and Testosterone May Share Several of the Same Side Effects

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. 2 of them are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Kidney problems Worth acting on Additional detail

    Aristolochia

    “Orally, use of aristolochia can cause end-stage renal failure and urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. These adverse effects are well documented. A case of hepatotoxicity associated with aristolochia use has also been reported.”

    Aristolochia · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in kidney failure.

    5 sources cited
    1. 12782. Arlt VM, Stiborova M, Schmeiser HH. Aristolochic acid as a probable human cancer hazard in herbal remedies: a review. Mutagenesis 2002;17:265-77. PubMed
    2. 32376. News Potpourri. Southern Medical Journal 2000;93(11):1129-1130.
    3. 94872. Shaohua Z, Ananda S, Ruxia Y, Liang R, Xiaorui C, Liang L. Fatal renal failure due to the Chinese herb "GuanMu Tong" (Aristolochia manshuriensis): autopsy findings and review of literature. Forensic Sci Int. 2010;199(1-3):e5-7. PubMed
    4. 100337. Tazi I, Nafil H, Mahmal L. Fatal renal failure due to self administration of Aristolochia Longa after treatment with chemotherapy. Arab J Nephrol Transplant. 2012 Jan;5(1):54; discussion 55.
    5. 32383. Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD). Systematic review: hepatotoxic events associated with herbal medicinal products. 2004;

    “Orally, use of aristolochia can cause end-stage renal failure and urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. There have been more than 100 cases of nephropathy, referred to as "Chinese herb nephropathy", characterized by interstitial fibrosis and associated with tea believed to be adulterated with aristolochia. This was originally reported in Belgium with accidental substitution of aristolochia for another herb.”

    Aristolochia · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in peritoneal dialysis.

    6 sources cited
    1. 12782. Arlt VM, Stiborova M, Schmeiser HH. Aristolochic acid as a probable human cancer hazard in herbal remedies: a review. Mutagenesis 2002;17:265-77. PubMed
    2. 564. van Ypersele de Strihou C, Vanherweghem JL. The tragic paradigm of Chinese herbs nephropathy. Nephrol Dial Transplant 1995;10:157-60. DOI
    3. 6073. Nortier JL, Martinez MC, Schmeiser HH, et al. Urothelial carcinoma associated with the use of a Chinese herb (Aristolochia fangchi). N Engl J Med 2000;342:1686-92.
    4. 12783. Cronin AJ, Maidment G, Cook T, et al Aristolochic acid as a causative factor in a case of Chinese herbal nephropathy. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2002;17:524-5. PubMed
    5. 12784. Chang CH, Wang YM, Yang AH, Chiang SS. Rapidly progressive interstitial renal fibrosis associated with Chinese herbal medications. Am J Nephrol 2001;21:441-8. PubMed
    6. 12785. Lord GM, Cook T, Arlt VM, et al. Urothelial malignant disease and Chinese herbal nephropathy. Lancet 2001;358:1515-6. PubMed

    Testosterone

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

  • Liver problems Worth acting on Additional detail

    Aristolochia

    Recorded for Aristolochia in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Kidney problems above.

    Testosterone

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

Effects for Testosterone come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Aristolochia 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

Aristolochia in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy And Lactation Unsafe

When used orally; 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

From our Q&A

Questions About Aristolochia or Testosterone

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

This page covers Aristolochia only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Testosterone page lists 170 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Beer (major), Grapefruit (major), Siberian Cocklebur (major), St. John's Wort (major) and Wine (major).

By severity: 5 major · 129 moderate · 36 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Testosterone page

“The supplement list for testosterone therapy (Androgel, Testim, Nebido, and others) deserves real attention, mainly because five of its 170 entries are rated major and four of those are everyday items: grapefruit, St. John's wort, and alcohol in the form of beer or wine.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Testosterone interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Aristolochia and Testosterone 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 Aristolochia
Steady interest

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

29 days ago today
Medication Testosterone
Top 1%

#15 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 Aristolochia reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Aristolochia and Testosterone 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 Aristolochia

What is Aristolochia?

Aristolochia
  • Promoting menstruation
  • Aphrodisiac
  • Immune stimulation
  • Snakebite remedies
  • Pain and inflammation

Aristolochia contains aristolochic acid, a potent toxin linked to severe kidney damage and cancer, and it is not safe to take. The FDA and other health authorities have warned against any product containing aristolochic acid. Despite its history in traditional medicine, no proven benefit outweighs these serious dangers.

Aristolochia spp. · Aristolochiaceae · Root, stem, and aerial parts (in traditional remedies) · Dried herb, powders, capsules, teas, and traditional tinctures

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

Aristolochia: dosing

There is no safe or recommended dose of Aristolochia. Because it contains a toxic, cancer-causing compound, it should not be taken at all.If you come across a supplement, tea, or traditional remedy that lists Aristolochia (or related names like birthwort, Mu Tong, or Fang Ji) as an ingredient, do not use it.

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

Read the full Aristolochia monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Testosterone

What Is Testosterone Used For?

Brand names: Intrinsa, Testim, Androgel, Andropatch, Testogel, Nebido, Delatestryl, Natesto, Vogelxo

Testosterone replacement therapy is used in adult males whose bodies do not produce enough of their own testosterone. This includes primary hypogonadism — where the testes themselves fail due to causes such as Klinefelter's syndrome, injury, chemotherapy, or surgical removal — and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, where the brain's signaling system (the hypothalamus or pituitary gland) fails to trigger testosterone production.

Testopel (subcutaneous pellets) may also be used to stimulate puberty in carefully selected males with clearly delayed puberty. The safety and efficacy of testosterone for age-related (late-onset) hypogonadism have not been established for most products, including AndroGel, Testim, Jatenzo, Kyzatrex, Natesto, Depo-Testosterone, Testosterone Cypionate, and Xyosted.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Testosterone

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (34,758 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Fatigue 1,854 reports
Myocardial infarction 1,728 reports
Cerebrovascular accident 1,290 reports
Deep vein thrombosis 1,240 reports
Anxiety 1,199 reports
See full Testosterone drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Aristolochia

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

0Major
355Moderate
0Minor
2,474No known interaction
355 Moderate 2,474 No interaction
Moderate

355 interactions

Showing 60 of 355 moderate interactions — see all 355 on the Aristolochia page.

No interaction 2,474 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,474 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Aristolochia list.

See the full Aristolochia interactions page
See every supplement checked against Testosterone, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Aristolochia References

The 27 references that drive our Aristolochia 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. van Ypersele de Strihou C, Vanherweghem JL. The tragic paradigm of Chinese herbs nephropathy. Nephrol Dial Transplant 1995;10:157-60. DOI
  2. Nortier JL, Martinez MC, Schmeiser HH, et al. Urothelial carcinoma associated with the use of a Chinese herb (Aristolochia fangchi). N Engl J Med 2000;342:1686-92.
  3. Lewis CJ, Alpert S. Letter to health care professionals -- FDA concerned about botanical products, including dietary supplements, containing aristolochic acid. Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling, Dietary Supplements. Center for Food Safety and Appli
  4. Arlt VM, Stiborova M, Schmeiser HH. Aristolochic acid as a probable human cancer hazard in herbal remedies: a review. Mutagenesis 2002;17:265-77. PubMed
  5. Cronin AJ, Maidment G, Cook T, et al Aristolochic acid as a causative factor in a case of Chinese herbal nephropathy. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2002;17:524-5. PubMed
  6. Chang CH, Wang YM, Yang AH, Chiang SS. Rapidly progressive interstitial renal fibrosis associated with Chinese herbal medications. Am J Nephrol 2001;21:441-8. PubMed
  7. Lord GM, Cook T, Arlt VM, et al. Urothelial malignant disease and Chinese herbal nephropathy. Lancet 2001;358:1515-6. PubMed
  8. Lord GM, Tagore R, Cook T, et al. Nephropathy caused by Chinese herbs in the UK. Lancet 1999;354:481-2. PubMed
  9. Nortier JL, Vanherweghem JL. Renal interstitial fibrosis and urothelial carcinoma associated with the use of a Chinese herb (Aristolochia fangchi). Toxicology 2002;181-182:577-80. PubMed
  10. Martinez M. C., Nortier J., Vereerstraeten P., Vanherweghem J. L. Progression rate of Chinese herb nephropathy: impact of Aristolochia fangchi ingested dose. Nephrol.Dial.Transplant. 2002;17(3):408-12. PubMed
  11. Nortier, J. [Renal interstitial fibrosis and urotelial carcinomas after ingestion of a Chinese herb (Aristolochia fangchi)]. Nephrologie 2002;23(1):37-38.
  12. Ioset, J. R., Raoelison, G. E., and Hostettmann, K. Detection of aristolochic acid in Chinese phytomedicines and dietary supplements used as slimming regimens. Food Chem Toxicol 2003;41(1):29-36. PubMed
  13. Yu Y., Zheng F. L., Li H. [Chinese herbs-induced renal failure with Fanconi syndrome: a report of 6 cases]. Zhonghua Nei Ke.Za Zhi. 2003;42:110-12.
  14. Schaneberg, B. T. and Khan, I. A. Analysis of products suspected of containing Aristolochia or Asarum species. J.Ethnopharmacol. 2004;94(2-3):245-249. PubMed
  15. Chan, T. Y., Tam, H. P., Lai, C. K., and Chan, A. Y. A multidisciplinary approach to the toxicologic problems associated with the use of herbal medicines. Ther Drug Monit. 2005;27(1):53-57. 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 Aristolochia and Testosterone Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Aristolochia with Testosterone?
We do not list a known interaction between Aristolochia and Testosterone. 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 Aristolochia and Testosterone have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 2 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.
How was the Aristolochia and Testosterone combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Testosterone is filed under 5 classifications, and Aristolochia has documented interactions with 1 drug class — none of Testosterone'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 Aristolochia interact with any other medications?
Yes. Aristolochia has 355 documented drug interactions in our database — Testosterone 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 Testosterone interact with any supplements?
Yes. Testosterone has documented interactions with 170 supplements in our database — Aristolochia is not one of them. The Testosterone interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

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

Where next

Keep Exploring

Aristolochia monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Testosterone drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Testosterone supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Testosterone, ranked by severity Supplement interaction checker Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z Every drug we’ve checked against herbs & supplements References The 27 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Testosterone and Aristolochia?

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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.