Drug & supplement interaction

Atractylodes + Valproic Acid

Valproic Acid brand names: Depakene, Depacon, Valproate.

No Known Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 20, 2026
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Atractylodes and Valproic Acid 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 Valproic Acid 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

Atractylodes and Valproic Acid

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 Valproic Acid and Atractylodes 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.

Atractylodes safety at a glance

Atractylodes overall Use caution Often used traditionally, but human safety data are limited, so use cautiously and under guidance.
Pregnancy Possibly Unsafe When used orally. In animals, atractylodes has caused reproductive toxicity, including fetal death, as well as changes in gestation, growth, and skeletal format... Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Avoid Safety while breastfeeding is unknown, so avoid it to be safe.

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 Valproic Acid and Atractylodes? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Valproic Acid

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Valproic Acid is filed under 8 classifications — including valproate, anticonvulsants, serotonergic drugs. Atractylodes has documented interactions with 5 drug classes — the most serious being anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs (moderate), aromatase inhibitors (moderate) and hexobarbital (moderate) — and none of Valproic Acid’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

Atractylodes Does Interact With Other Medications

Atractylodes has 127 moderate, 674 minor known drug interactions in our database — Valproic Acid isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 127 Minor 674 No known interaction 2,029 (incl. Valproic Acid)
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.

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Atractylodes and Valproic Acid 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. One of them is worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • An allergic reaction Worth acting on Additional detail

    Atractylodes

    “There is currently a limited amount of information on the adverse effects of atractylodes. A thorough evaluation of safety outcomes has not been conducted.

    Most Common Adverse Effects:

    Orally: Allergic reaction, dry mouth, nausea.”

    Atractylodes · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in dry mouth.

    Valproic Acid

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

  • Dry mouth / Nausea Additional detail

    Atractylodes

    “Orally, atractylenolide I, an isolated constituent of atractylodes, can cause bad taste, nausea, and dry mouth.”

    Atractylodes · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in dry mouth.

    1 source cited
    1. 15706. Liu Y, Jia Z, Dong L, et al. A randomized pilot study of atractylenolide I on gastric cancer cachexia patients. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2008;5:337-44. PubMed

    Valproic Acid

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

Effects for Valproic Acid come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Atractylodes come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 30,892 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Valproic Acid that mention that effect — a reporting proportion, not an incidence rate and not evidence the drug caused it. Wording is matched across sources by our own clinical vocabulary, so treat this as a prompt to pay attention, not a diagnosis.

Special populations

Atractylodes in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy Possibly Unsafe

When used orally. In animals, atractylodes has caused reproductive toxicity, including fetal death, as well as changes in gestation, growth, and skeletal formation.

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

How to take them

Some Valproic Acid Products Have a Food Rule — Atractylodes Should Not Break It

At least one FDA label for a product containing Valproic Acid says to take it with food. If you take Atractylodes on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate — and take Valproic Acid 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 Valproic Acid 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.

irritation may benefit from administration of the drug with food or by slowly building up the dose from an initial low level.

From the Dosage and Administration section of the FDA label we read for Valproic Acid — 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 Atractylodes or Valproic Acid

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

This page covers Atractylodes only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Valproic Acid page lists 173 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: 1,4-butanediol (major), Activated Charcoal (major), Beer (major), Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (ghb) (major) and Kava (major).

By severity: 9 major · 147 moderate · 17 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Valproic Acid page

“Anyone taking valproic acid (Depakene, Depacon) for seizures or bipolar disorder should treat this list with genuine care. Of the 173 supplements and herbs on file, nine are rated major.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Valproic Acid 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. Even though Atractylodes itself has no known interaction with Valproic Acid, 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 Atractylodes and Valproic Acid 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%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Valproic Acid
Top 25%

#394 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 Atractylodes reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Atractylodes and Valproic Acid records this page draws on were last updated July 11, 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 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.

Atractylodes macrocephala; Atractylodes lancea · Asteraceae · Rhizome (root) · Dried root, powders, capsules, decoctions (teas), and part of traditional Chinese and Japanese herbal formulas

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

Atractylodes: dosing

There is no well-established standard dose for Atractylodes as a single supplement, and traditional amounts vary depending on the formula and the form used (dried root, powder, capsule, or decoction).If you choose to use it, follow the directions on the product label and do not exceed the suggested amount.

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

Read the full Atractylodes monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Valproic Acid

What Is Valproic Acid Used For?

Brand names: Depakene, Depacon, Valproate

Valproic acid capsules (brands Valproic and Valproic Acid) and valproic acid oral solution (brand Valproic Acid) are both used to treat epilepsy. Specifically, they are approved for complex partial seizures (either alone or with other seizure types) as monotherapy or add-on therapy, and for simple and complex absence seizures as sole therapy or add-on therapy.

Both forms are intended for adults and pediatric patients. Always follow your prescriber's guidance on which product and regimen is right for you.

See full Valproic Acid drug information
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
674Minor
2,028No known interaction
127 Moderate 674 Minor 2,028 No interaction
Moderate

127 interactions

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

Minor

674 interactions

Showing 60 of 674 minor interactions — see all 674 on the Atractylodes page.

No interaction 2,028 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 2,028 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Atractylodes list.

See the full Atractylodes interactions page
See every supplement checked against Valproic Acid, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Atractylodes References

The 6 references that drive our Atractylodes 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. Liu Y, Jia Z, Dong L, et al. A randomized pilot study of atractylenolide I on gastric cancer cachexia patients. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2008;5:337-44. PubMed
  2. Chen Y, Yang W, Guo L, Wu X, Zhang T, Liu J, Zhang J. Atractylodes lactone compounds inhibit platelet activation. Platelets. 2017 Mar;28(2):194-202. PubMed
  3. Jiang H, Shi J, Li Y. Screening for compounds with aromatase inhibiting activities from Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. Molecules. 2011 Apr 14;16(4):3146-51. PubMed
  4. Koonrungsesomboon N, Na-Bangchang K, Karbwang J. Therapeutic potential and pharmacological activities of Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC. Asian Pac J Trop Med. 2014 Jun;7(6):421-8. PubMed
  5. Li L, Tang LY, Man GC, Yeung BH, Lau CB, Leung PC, Wang CC. Potential reproductive toxicity of Largehead Atractylodes Rhizome, the most commonly used Chinese medicine for threatened miscarriage. Hum Reprod. 2011 Dec;26(12):3280-8. PubMed
  6. 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

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 Atractylodes and Valproic Acid Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Atractylodes with Valproic Acid?
We do not list a known interaction between Atractylodes and Valproic Acid. 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 Atractylodes and Valproic Acid have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 3 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 Atractylodes and Valproic Acid at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Valproic Acid says to take it with food. If you take Atractylodes on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate and take Valproic Acid with a meal where the label says to. Food instructions belong to the product rather than the ingredient — two Valproic Acid products can differ — so check the directions on your own box. This is about absorption, not an interaction.
How was the Atractylodes and Valproic Acid combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Valproic Acid is filed under 8 classifications, and Atractylodes has documented interactions with 5 drug classes — none of Valproic Acid'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 Atractylodes interact with any other medications?
Yes. Atractylodes has 801 documented drug interactions in our database — Valproic Acid 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 Valproic Acid interact with any supplements?
Yes. Valproic Acid has documented interactions with 173 supplements in our database — Atractylodes is not one of them. The Valproic Acid 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

Atractylodes monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Valproic Acid drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Valproic Acid supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Valproic Acid, 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 6 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Valproic Acid and Atractylodes?

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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.