Drug & supplement interaction

Arsenic + Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate

Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate brand name: Aralen / Primaquine.

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 Arsenic and Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate 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

Arsenic and Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate

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 Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate and Arsenic 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.

Arsenic safety at a glance

Arsenic overall Avoid Inorganic arsenic is a known poison and carcinogen and should not be taken as a supplement.
Pregnancy Likely Safe When organic arsenic is consumed in food amounts. Organic forms of arsenic found in a normal diet have not been linked to toxicity. Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Likely Safe When organic arsenic is consumed in food amounts. Organic forms of arsenic found in a normal diet have not been linked to toxicity. 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 Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate and Arsenic? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate is filed under 5 classifications — including primaquine, cytochrome p450 2d6 (cyp2d6) inhibitors, seizure threshold lowering drugs. Arsenic has documented interactions with 1 drug class — the most serious being qt interval-prolonging drugs (major) — and none of Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate’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

Arsenic Does Interact With Other Medications

Arsenic has 161 major, known drug interactions in our database — Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Major 161 No known interaction 2,669 (incl. Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Arsenic

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

What to actually watch for

What Arsenic Itself Has Been Linked To

This is not an interaction — nothing below involves Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate. It is the side-effect record for Arsenic on its own, from the licensed Natural Medicines monograph. If something new turns up after you add Arsenic, this list is the first place to look. 7 entries are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Memory problems / Confusion / Seizures Worth acting on Additional detail

    “Orally, doses of inorganic arsenic 1 mg/kg daily can cause peripheral neuropathy and encephalopathy. In one case, chronic intake of inorganic arsenic 30 ng daily has reportedly caused headache, dizziness, and difficulty concentrating. Acute ingestion of inorganic arsenic 10 mg/kg daily or more can cause cerebral edema, leading to encephalopathy, convulsions, coma, and death (17,7135,16313,16316).”

    Arsenic · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in cluster headache.

    6 sources cited
    1. 7135. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2002.
    2. 16309. Uthus EO, Seaborn CD. Deliberations and evaluations of the approaches, endpoints and paradigms for dietary recommendations of the other trace elements. J Nutr 1996;126:2452s-2459s. PubMed
    3. 16312. US Department of Health and Human Services. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Public Health Statement: Arsenic. August 2007. Available at: www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp2-c1-b.pdf (Accessed 14 April 2008).
    4. 102893. Dani SU. A curious association of chronic homeopathic arsenic ingestion with nonspecific symptoms in a Swiss teenager. Swiss Med Wkly 2019;149:w20071. PubMed
    5. 17. Ellenhorn MJ, et al. Ellenhorn's Medical Toxicology: Diagnoses and Treatment of Human Poisoning. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins, 1997.
    6. 16313. Eckhert CD. Other trace elements. In: Shils ME, Shike M, Ross AC, et al (eds). Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2006.
  • Low mood / Raised blood pressure Worth acting on Additional detail

    “Orally, doses of inorganic arsenic 1 mg/kg daily can cause hematopoietic depression including anemia, arrhythmias, and blood vessel damage leading to bruising. Acute ingestion of inorganic arsenic 10 mg/kg daily or more causes vasodilation and myocardial depression leading to myocardial injury, shock, and circulatory failure (17,7135,16313,16316,102892).”

    Arsenic · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in anemia.

    6 sources cited
    1. 7135. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2002.
    2. 16309. Uthus EO, Seaborn CD. Deliberations and evaluations of the approaches, endpoints and paradigms for dietary recommendations of the other trace elements. J Nutr 1996;126:2452s-2459s. PubMed
    3. 16312. US Department of Health and Human Services. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Public Health Statement: Arsenic. August 2007. Available at: www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp2-c1-b.pdf (Accessed 14 April 2008).
    4. 17. Ellenhorn MJ, et al. Ellenhorn's Medical Toxicology: Diagnoses and Treatment of Human Poisoning. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins, 1997.
    5. 16313. Eckhert CD. Other trace elements. In: Shils ME, Shike M, Ross AC, et al (eds). Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2006.
    6. 16316. Ratnaike RN. Acute and chronic arsenic toxicity. Postgrad Med J 2003;79:391-6. PubMed
  • Kidney problems Worth acting on Additional detail

    “Orally, high doses of inorganic arsenic can cause death. In one case, a 24-year-old female receiving a combination of arsenic trioxide, realgar, and mung bean flour from an illegal medical provider died within days of taking the compounded preparation. Laboratory analysis revealed the amount of arsenic consumed to be around 1.1 grams on day 1 and 0.9 grams on day 4.”

    Arsenic · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in diarrhea.

    2 sources cited
    1. 102892. Lu P, Ma JQ, Li F, et al. A fatal case of acute arsenic poisoning. J Forensic Sci 2019;64(4):1271-3. PubMed
    2. 106541. Liu R, Tabuchi T, Kitamura T, Miyashiro I, Sobue T. Long-term observational study on 6223 survivors of arsenic poisoning due to contaminated milk powder during infancy. Cancer Sci 2020;111(10):3873-3880. PubMed
  • Anemia Worth acting on Additional detail

    “Orally, organic forms of arsenic found in the diet are well tolerated, with no clear links to adverse effects. However, high doses or chronic intake of inorganic arsenic is associated with potentially serious adverse effects.

    Serious Adverse Effects (Rare):

    Orally: With the acute ingestion of inorganic arsenic, anemia, arrhythmias, bruising, gastrointestinal irritation or damage, hepatotoxicity, and peripheral neurop…”

    Arsenic · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in anemia.

    “Orally, chronic intake of 10 mcg/kg daily of inorganic arsenic produces arsenicism, characterized in part by anemia, leukopenia, and occlusive peripheral vascular disease (17,7135,16309,16310,16316).”

    Arsenic · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in anemia.

    5 sources cited
    1. 17. Ellenhorn MJ, et al. Ellenhorn's Medical Toxicology: Diagnoses and Treatment of Human Poisoning. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins, 1997.
    2. 7135. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2002.
    3. 16309. Uthus EO, Seaborn CD. Deliberations and evaluations of the approaches, endpoints and paradigms for dietary recommendations of the other trace elements. J Nutr 1996;126:2452s-2459s. PubMed
    4. 16310. Nielsen FH. Nutritional requirements for boron, silicon, vanadium, nickel, and arsenic: current knowledge and speculation. FASEB J 1991;5:2661-7. DOI
    5. 16316. Ratnaike RN. Acute and chronic arsenic toxicity. Postgrad Med J 2003;79:391-6. PubMed
  • A low white blood cell count Worth acting on Additional detail

    Recorded for Arsenic in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Anemia above.

  • Liver problems Worth acting on Additional detail

    “Orally, doses of inorganic arsenic 1 mg/kg daily can cause hepatotoxicity.

    The homeopathic remedy, arsenicum album, has been associated with three cases of acute liver injury. In one case, a 70-year-old male with pre-existing non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) cirrhosis died following the acute liver injury associated with use of this compound for about 12 weeks.”

    Arsenic · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in cirrhosis.

    4 sources cited
    1. 7135. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2002.
    2. 16309. Uthus EO, Seaborn CD. Deliberations and evaluations of the approaches, endpoints and paradigms for dietary recommendations of the other trace elements. J Nutr 1996;126:2452s-2459s. PubMed
    3. 16312. US Department of Health and Human Services. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Public Health Statement: Arsenic. August 2007. Available at: www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp2-c1-b.pdf (Accessed 14 April 2008).
    4. 109114. Theruvath AH, Raveendran R, Philips CA. Dangerous placebo during the COVID-19 pandemic: A series of homoeopathic Arsenicum album-induced liver injury. Cureus 2022;14(6):e26062. PubMed
  • Bleeding or bruising Worth acting on Additional detail

    Recorded for Arsenic in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Anemia above.

Showing the 10 most notable of 24 recorded effects — ranked by how unusual each one is across medicines generally, with serious effects weighted up.

Everything above comes from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record for Arsenic — expand a row for the licensed statement it rests on. We haven’t matched Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate 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 Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate.

Special populations

Arsenic in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy And Lactation Likely Safe

When organic arsenic is consumed in food amounts. Organic forms of arsenic found in a normal diet have not been linked to toxicity.

Pregnancy And Lactation Likely Unsafe

When inorganic arsenic is taken orally, especially when used long-term or in high doses. While exposure to inorganic arsenic in drinking water does not seem to increase the risk of neural tube defects, it has been associated with an increased risk for spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, and neonatal mortality. Exposure to inorganic arsenic in drinking water and other sources while pregnant has also been linked to changes in birth weight, length, and head circumference, with one study showing that higher maternal blood arsenic levels are associated with 44% greater odds of delivering a small for gestational age infant and 103% greater odds of delivering a large for gestational age infant. Avoid arsenic supplements and water contaminated with arsenic during pregnancy or lactation.

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

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate

This page covers Arsenic only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate page lists 30 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Hibiscus Sabdariffa (major), Biofeedback (moderate), Coffee Charcoal (moderate) and Dendrobium (moderate).

By severity: 2 major · 19 moderate · 9 minor.

Open the Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 4 real supplement products containing Arsenic, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Arsenic. Even though Arsenic itself has no known interaction with Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate, 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 Arsenic and Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate 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 Arsenic
Steady interest

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

29 days ago today
Medication Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate
Top 10%

#177 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 Arsenic reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Arsenic and Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate 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 Arsenic

What is Arsenic?

Arsenic
  • Homeopathic digestive complaints
  • Traditional remedy for inflammatory conditions
  • Prescription use in certain leukemias (medical, not supplement)
  • Anxiety and restlessness (homeopathic tradition)

Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that is toxic in its inorganic form, and it is not a supplement you should take to improve your health. While arsenic trioxide is a real, doctor-prescribed cancer medicine, and tiny homeopathic doses exist, there is no good reason to take arsenic on your own. Avoid arsenic-containing products and talk to a pharmacist or doctor about any concerns.

Mineral/trace element (not a plant part) · Homeopathic preparations (e.g. Arsenicum album), trace amounts in food and water

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

Arsenic: dosing

There is no safe or recommended supplement dose of arsenic. It is not a nutrient you need to add to your diet, and no health authority recommends taking arsenic supplements.Homeopathic products that list arsenic are usually extremely dilute, but they still have no proven benefit. The only legitimate dosed use of arsenic is the prescription medicine arsenic trioxide, which is calculated and given by cancer specialists in a hospital setting.If you are considering any product that contains arsenic, do not guess at a dose.

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

Read the full Arsenic monograph & all interactions
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Arsenic

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

161Major
0Moderate
0Minor
2,668No known interaction
161 Major 2,668 No interaction
Major

161 interactions

Showing 60 of 161 major interactions — see all 161 on the Arsenic page.

No interaction 2,668 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,668 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Arsenic list.

See the full Arsenic interactions page
See every supplement checked against Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Arsenic References

The 35 references that drive our Arsenic 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. McEvoy GK, ed. AHFS Drug Information. Bethesda, MD: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, 1998.
  2. Ellenhorn MJ, et al. Ellenhorn's Medical Toxicology: Diagnoses and Treatment of Human Poisoning. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins, 1997.
  3. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2002.
  4. Uthus EO, Seaborn CD. Deliberations and evaluations of the approaches, endpoints and paradigms for dietary recommendations of the other trace elements. J Nutr 1996;126:2452s-2459s. PubMed
  5. Nielsen FH. Nutritional requirements for boron, silicon, vanadium, nickel, and arsenic: current knowledge and speculation. FASEB J 1991;5:2661-7. DOI
  6. US Department of Health and Human Services. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Public Health Statement: Arsenic. August 2007. Available at: www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp2-c1-b.pdf (Accessed 14 April 2008).
  7. Eckhert CD. Other trace elements. In: Shils ME, Shike M, Ross AC, et al (eds). Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2006.
  8. Ratnaike RN. Acute and chronic arsenic toxicity. Postgrad Med J 2003;79:391-6. PubMed
  9. Wasserman GA, Liu X, Parvez F, et al. Water arsenic exposure and children's intellectual function in Araihazar, Bangladesh. Environ Health Perspect 2004;112:1329-33. PubMed
  10. Lamm SH, Ferdosi H, Dissen EK, Li J, Ahn J. A systematic review and meta-regression analysis of lung cancer risk and inorganic arsenic in drinking water. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2015;12(12):15498-515. PubMed
  11. Hsueh YM, Chen WJ, Lee CY, et al. Association of arsenic methylation capacity with developmental delays and health status in children: a prospective case-control trial. Sci Rep 2016;6:37287. PubMed
  12. Moon KA, Oberoi S, Barchowsky A, et al. A dose-response meta-analysis of chronic arsenic exposure and incident cardiovascular disease. Int J Epidemiol 2017;46(6):1924-39. PubMed
  13. Dong J, Su SY. The association between arsenic and children's intelligence: a meta-analysis. Biol Trace Elem Res 2009;129(1-3):88-93. PubMed
  14. Nong Q, Zhang Y, Guallar E, Zhong Q. Arsenic exposure and predicted 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk using the pooled cohort equations in U.S. hypertensive adults. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2016;13(11). pii: E1093. PubMed
  15. Sung TC, Huang JW, Guo HR. Association between arsenic exposure and diabetes: a meta-analysis. Biomed Res Int 2015;2015:368087. 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 Arsenic and Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Arsenic with Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate?
We do not list a known interaction between Arsenic and Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate. 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.
How was the Arsenic and Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate is filed under 5 classifications, and Arsenic has documented interactions with 1 drug class — none of Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate'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 Arsenic interact with any other medications?
Yes. Arsenic has 161 documented drug interactions in our database — Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate 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 Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate interact with any supplements?
Yes. Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate has documented interactions with 30 supplements in our database — Arsenic is not one of them. The Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate 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

Arsenic monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate, 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 35 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Chloroquine, Primaquine Phosphate and Arsenic?

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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.