Drug & supplement interaction

Astragalus + Bethanechol Chloride

Bethanechol Chloride brand name: Urecholine.

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 Astragalus and Bethanechol Chloride 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 Bethanechol Chloride 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

Astragalus and Bethanechol Chloride

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 Bethanechol Chloride and Astragalus 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.

Astragalus safety at a glance

Astragalus overall Use caution Generally well tolerated short-term in healthy adults, but quality human safety data is limited.
Pregnancy Avoid Not enough reliable safety data, so it is best avoided during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Avoid Not enough reliable safety data, so it is best avoided while breastfeeding.

Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Still wondering about combining Bethanechol Chloride and Astragalus? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Bethanechol Chloride

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Bethanechol Chloride is filed under 2 classifications — cholinergic drugs, oral drugs. Astragalus has documented interactions with 4 drug classes — the most serious being antidiabetes drugs (moderate), cyclophosphamide (moderate) and immunosuppressants (moderate) — and none of Bethanechol Chloride’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

Astragalus Does Interact With Other Medications

Astragalus has 208 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Bethanechol Chloride isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 208 No known interaction 2,622 (incl. Bethanechol Chloride)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Astragalus

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Astragalus and Bethanechol Chloride 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.

  • A fast or pounding heartbeat Additional detail

    Astragalus

    “Orally, astragalus has reportedly been associated with lacunar angina in one clinical trial. However, this may not have been caused by astragalus. In addition, rapid intravenous administration of astragalus has resulted in temporary palpitations.”

    Astragalus · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in angina.

    2 sources cited
    1. 17355. Matkovic Z, Zivkovic V, Korica M, et al. Efficacy and safety of Astragalus membranaceus in the treatment of patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis. Phytother Res 2010;24:175-81.
    2. 32812. Zhang, J. G., Yang, N., He, H., Wei, G. H., Gao, D. S., Wang, X. L., Wang, X. Z., and Song, G. Y. [Effect of Astragalus injection on plasma levels of apoptosis-related factors in aged patients with chronic heart failure.]. Chin J Integr.Med 2005;11(3):18 PubMed

    Bethanechol Chloride

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

  • Nausea Additional detail

    Astragalus

    “Orally, astragalus has reportedly been associated with enterocolitis and nausea in one clinical trial. However, these effects may not have been caused by astragalus.”

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

    1 source cited
    1. 17355. Matkovic Z, Zivkovic V, Korica M, et al. Efficacy and safety of Astragalus membranaceus in the treatment of patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis. Phytother Res 2010;24:175-81.

    Bethanechol Chloride

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

Reported for Astragalus but not commonly for Bethanechol Chloride: muscle pain, heart failure, sore throat and dizziness.

Effects for Bethanechol Chloride come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Astragalus 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.

How to take them

Some Bethanechol Chloride Products Have a Food Rule — Astragalus Should Not Break It

At least one FDA label for a product containing Bethanechol Chloride says to take it with food. If you take Astragalus on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate — and take Bethanechol Chloride with a meal where the label says to.

This may not be true of your version. Food instructions belong to the product, not the ingredient: two Bethanechol Chloride 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.

If taken soon after eating, nausea and vomiting may occur.

From the Dosage and Administration section of the FDA label we read for Bethanechol Chloride — 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 Astragalus or Bethanechol Chloride

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

This page covers Astragalus only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Bethanechol Chloride page lists 38 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Bacopa (moderate), Bael (moderate), Betel Nut (moderate) and Boxwood (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 27 moderate · 10 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Bethanechol Chloride page

“Anyone taking bethanechol chloride (Urecholine) for urinary retention should read this list carefully, starting with activated charcoal, the lone major-rated entry among the 38 ingredients here. Charcoal can bind bethanechol in the gut and sharply cut how much reaches your system, a real problem for a drug that has to get a sluggish bl…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Bethanechol Chloride interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 3,437 real supplement products containing Astragalus, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Astragalus. Even though Astragalus itself has no known interaction with Bethanechol Chloride, 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 Astragalus and Bethanechol Chloride 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 Astragalus
Top 5%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Bethanechol Chloride
Steady interest

#2,193 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 Astragalus reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Astragalus and Bethanechol Chloride 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 Astragalus

What is Astragalus?

Astragalus
  • Immune support
  • Colds and flu
  • Upper respiratory infections
  • Fatigue and stress (adaptogen)
  • Heart health
  • General wellness in traditional medicine

Astragalus is a root used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine, mainly to support the immune system and help the body cope with stress. While early studies are interesting, strong human evidence for most uses is still lacking. It is generally well tolerated by healthy adults for short-term use, but should be avoided during pregnancy and breastfeeding due to limited safety data.

Astragalus membranaceus · Fabaceae · Root · Capsules, tablets, dried root, tea, liquid extract (tincture), powder, and injectable forms used in some countries

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

Astragalus: dosing

There is no official, standardized dose of astragalus. The right amount can depend on the form (capsule, tea, extract), the part of the plant used, and how the product is prepared.Because doses vary widely between products and studies, the best advice is to follow the directions on the product label and not exceed them. A pharmacist can help you review a specific product and decide whether it is appropriate for you.If you start astragalus and notice any unwanted effects, stop and check with a healthcare professional. Avoid using it long-term without medical supervision, since long-term safety is not well established.

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

Read the full Astragalus monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Bethanechol

What Is Bethanechol Used For?

Brand name: Urecholine

Bethanechol Chloride Tablets are used to treat urinary retention — when the bladder holds urine but can't release it properly — in two specific situations: after surgery or childbirth (acute postoperative or postpartum nonobstructive urinary retention), and when weak bladder muscle caused by nerve problems (neurogenic atony) prevents normal emptying.

These are functional problems, meaning there's no physical blockage — the bladder simply isn't contracting the way it should.

See full Bethanechol drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Astragalus

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

0Major
208Moderate
0Minor
2,621No known interaction
208 Moderate 2,621 No interaction
Moderate

208 interactions

Showing 60 of 208 moderate interactions — see all 208 on the Astragalus page.

No interaction 2,621 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,621 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Astragalus list.

See the full Astragalus interactions page
See every supplement checked against Bethanechol Chloride, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Astragalus References

The 13 references that drive our Astragalus 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. Upton R, ed. Astragalus Root: Analytical, quality control, and therapeutic monograph. Santa Cruz, CA: American Herbal Pharmacopoeia. 1999:1-25.
  2. Khoo KS, Ang PT. Extract of astragalus membranaceus and ligustrum lucidum does not prevent cyclophosphamide-induced myelosuppression. Singapore Med J 1995;36:387-90.
  3. Chu DT, Wong WL, Mavligit GM. Immunotherapy with Chinese medicinal herbs. II. Reversal of cyclophosphamide-induced immune suppression by administration of fractionated Astragalus membranaceus in vivo. J Clin Lab Immunol 1988;25:125-9.
  4. Sun Y, Hersh EM, Lee SL, et al. Preliminary observations on the effects of the Chinese medicinal herbs Astragalus membranaceus and Ligustrum lucidum on lymphocyte blastogenic responses. J Biol Response Mod 1983;2:227-37..
  5. Ma J, Peng A, Lin S. Mechanisms of the therapeutic effect of astragalus membranaceus on sodium and water retention in experimental heart failure. Chin Med J (Engl) 1998;111:17-23.
  6. Matkovic Z, Zivkovic V, Korica M, et al. Efficacy and safety of Astragalus membranaceus in the treatment of patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis. Phytother Res 2010;24:175-81.
  7. Zhang, J. G., Yang, N., He, H., Wei, G. H., Gao, D. S., Wang, X. L., Wang, X. Z., and Song, G. Y. [Effect of Astragalus injection on plasma levels of apoptosis-related factors in aged patients with chronic heart failure.]. Chin J Integr.Med 2005;11(3):18 PubMed
  8. Chen, H. W., Lin, I. H., Chen, Y. J., Chang, K. H., Wu, M. H., Su, W. H., Huang, G. C., and Lai, Y. L. A novel infusible botanically-derived drug, PG2, for cancer-related fatigue: a phase II double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled study. Clin Invest PubMed
  9. Tian H, Lu J, He H, et al.The effect of Astragalus as an adjuvant treatment in type 2 diabetes mellitus: A (preliminary) meta-analysis. J Ethnopharmacol. 2016;191:206-215. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2016.05.062. PubMed
  10. Hong KF, Liu PY, Zhang W, Gui DK, Xu YH. The Efficacy and Safety of Astragalus as an Adjuvant Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Integr Complement Med 2023. PubMed
  11. Chan KW, Kwong ASK, Tsui PN, et al. Add-on astragalus in type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease: A multi-center, assessor-blind, randomized controlled trial. Phytomedicine 2024;130:155457. PubMed
  12. Han X, Yu T, Chen X, Du Z, Yu M, Xiong J. Effect of Astragalus membranaceus on left ventricular remodeling in HFrEF: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Pharmacol 2024;15:1345797. PubMed
  13. Jing P, Hongzheng H, Zhenqi WU, Meijuan Z, Zuojing LI, Gang C. Long-term efficacy and safety of Huangqi ()-based Traditional Chinese Medicine in diabetic peripheral neuropathy: a Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Tradit Chin Med 2024;44(2):

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 Astragalus and Bethanechol Chloride Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Astragalus with Bethanechol Chloride?
We do not list a known interaction between Astragalus and Bethanechol Chloride. 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 Astragalus and Bethanechol Chloride 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.
Should I take Astragalus and Bethanechol Chloride at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Bethanechol Chloride says to take it with food. If you take Astragalus on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate and take Bethanechol Chloride with a meal where the label says to. Food instructions belong to the product rather than the ingredient — two Bethanechol Chloride products can differ — so check the directions on your own box. This is about absorption, not an interaction.
How was the Astragalus and Bethanechol Chloride combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Bethanechol Chloride is filed under 2 classifications, and Astragalus has documented interactions with 4 drug classes — none of Bethanechol Chloride'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 Astragalus interact with any other medications?
Yes. Astragalus has 208 documented drug interactions in our database — Bethanechol Chloride 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 Bethanechol Chloride interact with any supplements?
Yes. Bethanechol Chloride has documented interactions with 38 supplements in our database — Astragalus is not one of them. The Bethanechol Chloride 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

Astragalus monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Bethanechol drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Bethanechol Chloride supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Bethanechol Chloride, 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 13 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

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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.