Drug & supplement interaction

Atractylodes + Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel

Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel brand names: Logynon, Microgynon 30 ED.

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

Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel falls into 2 drug categories that Atractylodes can interact with; the most serious is rated minor. Theoretically, atractylodes might decrease the levels of CYP1A2 substrates.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityMinor
LikelihoodPossible
Interactions2
EvidenceD
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Atractylodes and Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel

These two interact in 2 distinct ways. Each one is explained separately below.

Why Are There 2 Interactions?

Atractylodes interacts with whole categories of medication. Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel falls into 2 of those categories, so it can interact with Atractylodes in 2 different ways. We’ve listed each one below — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them (Minor).

Minor

CYTOCHROME P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) SUBSTRATES

1 of 2

Why this applies to Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel

Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel falls under CYTOCHROME P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) SUBSTRATES — the group Atractylodes interacts with.

Theoretically, atractylodes might decrease the levels of CYP1A2 substrates.
In animals, atractylodes administered at high doses has been shown to induce CYP1A2 activity. This effect has not been shown in humans.
Severity Minor 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 gist with your birth control pill (the estrogen plus levonorgestrel combo). In animal studies, large doses of atractylodes seemed to speed up a liver enzyme called CYP1A2, which is one of the pathways that helps break down estrogen. If that happened in people, it could in theory clear the hormone a bit faster and slightly lower its levels.

The honest reality: this has only been seen in animals at high doses, never proven in humans, and it's rated as a minor interaction. Still, with contraception even small dips in hormone levels matter, since reliable pregnancy prevention is the whole point. I wouldn't lose sleep, but please mention it to your pharmacist or doctor before adding atractylodes, especially as concentrated supplement doses, not food amounts.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Muhamad N, Plengsuriyakarn T, Na-Bangchang K. Atractylodes lancea for cholangiocarcinoma: Modulatory effects on CYP1A2 and CYP3A1 and pharmacokinetics in rats and biodistribution in mice. PLoS One 2022;17(11):e0277614. PubMed
Minor

CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES

2 of 2

Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel also falls under CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES.

Theoretically, atractylodes might increase the levels of CYP3A4 substrates.
In animals, atractylodes administered at high doses has been shown to inhibit CYP3A1 activity, which is a homolog to the human CYP3A4 enzyme. This effect has not been shown in humans.
Severity Minor 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

Your birth control pill combines two hormones, ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel, and both are partly broken down by a liver enzyme called CYP3A4. The thinking here is that atractylodes might slow that enzyme down a little, which could let your hormone levels drift slightly higher. In practice that might mean a touch more of the usual estrogen-type side effects like nausea, breast tenderness, bloating, or spotting.

Honestly though, I wouldn't lose sleep over this one. This is a theoretical concern based only on animal cells given high doses, and it has never been shown in people. It's not expected to make your pill less effective. Still, since herbal products are unpredictable, mention it to your pharmacist or doctor before combining them.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Muhamad N, Plengsuriyakarn T, Na-Bangchang K. Atractylodes lancea for cholangiocarcinoma: Modulatory effects on CYP1A2 and CYP3A1 and pharmacokinetics in rats and biodistribution in mice. PLoS One 2022;17(11):e0277614. PubMed

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

Atractylodes Also Interacts With Other Medications

Atractylodes has 127 moderate, 673 minor known drug interactions in our database — the Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel one above is among them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 127 Minor 673 No known interaction 2,030 (incl. Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Atractylodes

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

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel

This page covers Atractylodes only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel page lists 214 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Grapefruit (major), St. John's Wort (major), Acacia Rigidula (moderate) and Adrafinil (moderate).

By severity: 3 major · 171 moderate · 40 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel page

“A supplement that lowers hormone levels in a birth control pill can mean an unplanned pregnancy, and St. John's wort can do exactly that to ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel (Logynon, Microgynon 30 ED) by speeding up how your liver clears the hormones.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 691 real supplement products containing Atractylodes, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Atractylodes. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel too, on top of Atractylodes — 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 Atractylodes and Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel 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 Atractylodes
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel
Top 5%

#124 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 Atractylodes

What is Atractylodes?

Atractylodes
  • Digestive upset and poor appetite
  • Bloating and fluid retention
  • General fatigue or 'weakness'
  • Diarrhea
  • Support within traditional formulas

Atractylodes is a root used for centuries in traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Thai medicine, mostly for digestive complaints and fatigue, often as part of multi-herb formulas. Modern research is still early and mostly from lab and animal studies, so its true benefits in people are not well proven. If you want to try it, talk with a pharmacist or doctor first, and avoid it during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Read the full Atractylodes monograph & all interactions
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Atractylodes

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

0Major
127Moderate
673Minor
2,029No known interaction
127 Moderate 673 Minor 2,029 No interaction
Moderate

127 interactions

Showing 60 of 127 moderate interactions — see all 127 on the Atractylodes page.

Minor

673 interactions

Showing 60 of 673 minor interactions — see all 673 on the Atractylodes page.

No interaction 2,029 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,029 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Atractylodes list.

See the full Atractylodes interactions page
See every supplement checked against Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel, 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
Atractylodes monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel, 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 Ask a pharmacist › Free, personal answer from our licensed team
Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Atractylodes and Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel Together: Common Questions

Can you take Atractylodes with Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel?
There is only a minor interaction, which is usually not serious. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
Why are there 2 interactions listed for Atractylodes and Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel?
Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel belongs to more than one drug category, and Atractylodes interacts with each of those categories a little differently. We list every one so nothing is missed — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them.
How serious is the Atractylodes and Ethiny Estradiol, Levonorgestrel interaction?
We rate it Minor. This interaction is generally not clinically significant, but it remains worth noting and discussing with your pharmacist.

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

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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.