Drug & supplement interaction

Baikal Skullcap + Levodopa

Levodopa brand names: Larodopa, Inbrija.

No Known Interaction

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 13, 2026

The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Baikal Skullcap and Levodopa 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

Baikal Skullcap and Levodopa

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 Levodopa and Baikal Skullcap 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.

Baikal Skullcap safety at a glance

Baikal Skullcap overall Use caution Often used in traditional medicine, but human safety data are limited and quality of products varies.

Pregnancy Avoid Not enough safety information; avoid use during pregnancy.

Breastfeeding Avoid Not enough safety information; avoid while breastfeeding.

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

Still wondering about combining Levodopa and Baikal Skullcap? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›

How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Levodopa

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Levodopa is filed under 5 classifications — including dopamine agonists, seizure threshold lowering drugs, oral drugs. Baikal Skullcap has documented interactions with 12 drug classes — the most serious being anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs (moderate), antidiabetes drugs (moderate) and antihypertensive drugs (moderate) — and none of Levodopa’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

Baikal Skullcap Does Interact With Other Medications

Baikal Skullcap has 594 moderate, 352 minor known drug interactions in our database — Levodopa isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 594 Minor 352 No known interaction 1,884 (incl. Levodopa)

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Baikal Skullcap

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Baikal Skullcap and Levodopa 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.

Yellowing of the skin or eyes Worth acting on Additional detail
Baikal Skullcap
“A specific combination product (Limbrel, Primus Pharmaceuticals) containing flavocoxid, a mixture of Baikal skullcap flavonoid extract and catechu extract, has been linked to several reports of acute liver damage. There have been at least five published reports of liver damage associated with this product. In all cases, the patients were females aged 54-68 years taking doses of 250-500 mg twice daily for 1-3 months.”

Baikal Skullcap · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in myasthenia gravis.
6 sources cited

18009. Chalasani N, Vuppalanchi R, Navarro V, et al. Acute liver injury due to flavocoxid (Limbrel), a medical food for osteoarthritis: a case series. Ann Intern Med 2012;156:857-60. PubMed

96282. Papafragkakis C, Ona MA, Reddy M, Anand S. Acute hepatitis after ingestion of a preparation of Chinese skullcap and black catechu for joint pain. Case Reports Heptal 2016;2016:4356749. PubMed

18010. Reichenbach S, Juni P. Medical food and food supplements: not always as safe as generally assumed. Ann Intern Med 2012;156:894-5. PubMed

106042. US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA Alerts Consumers About Potentially Life-Threatening Health Problems Linked to Limbrel. December 19, 2017. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-alerts-consumers-about-pot

33460. Linnebur, S. A., Rapacchietta, O. C., and Vejar, M. Hepatotoxicity associated with chinese skullcap contained in Move Free Advanced dietary supplement: two case reports and review of the literature. Pharmacotherapy 2010;30(7):750, 258e-750, 262e. PubMed

101737. Braude MR, Bassily R. Drug-induced liver injury secondary to Scutellaria baicalensis (Chinese skullcap). Intern Med J. 2019;49(4):544-546. PubMed
Levodopa

Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Levodopa. Read the label on DailyMed ›
Cough / Headache Additional detail
Baikal Skullcap
“A specific combination product (Limbrel, Primus Pharmaceuticals) containing flavocoxid, a mixture of Baikal skullcap flavonoid extract and catechu extract, has been linked to several reports of hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Symptoms include fever, chills, headache, cough, chronic bronchitis, shortness of breath, weight loss, and fatigue.”

Baikal Skullcap · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in acute bronchitis.
1 source cited

106042. US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA Alerts Consumers About Potentially Life-Threatening Health Problems Linked to Limbrel. December 19, 2017. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-alerts-consumers-about-pot
Levodopa

Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Levodopa. Read the label on DailyMed ›
Vomiting / Nausea Additional detail
Baikal Skullcap
“Orally, use of Baikal skullcap has been associated with epigastric pain, abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.”

Baikal Skullcap · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in constipation.
2 sources cited

101738. Shin NR, Gu N, Choi HS, Kim H. Combined effects of Scutellaria baicalensis with metformin on glucose tolerance of patients with type 2 diabetes via gut microbiota modulation. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2020;318(1):E52-E61.

105867. Li WJ, Bao J, Zheng DC, et al. Treatments of Peyronie's disease with Scutellaria baicalensis and surgery according to the disease course: a single-center retrospective study of 261 patients. Ann Palliat Med. 2021 Mar;10(3):2979-2989. PubMed
Levodopa

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

Reported for Baikal Skullcap but not commonly for Levodopa: shortness of breath, an allergic reaction, stomach pain and liver problems.

Effects for Levodopa come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Baikal Skullcap 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.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Levodopa

This page covers Baikal Skullcap only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Levodopa page lists 41 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Branched-chain Amino Acids (bcaa) (major), Cowhage (major), Indian Snakeroot (major) and Magnesium (major).

By severity: 8 major · 22 moderate · 11 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Levodopa page

“Parkinson symptoms return fast when levodopa (Larodopa, Inbrija) stops reaching the brain, and most of the 41 supplements on this page can make that happen, so treat these combinations with genuine care. Protein and amino acid supplements compete with levodopa for transport into the brain, while everyday minerals like magnesium and iro…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Levodopa interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 737 real supplement products containing Baikal Skullcap, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Baikal Skullcap. Even though Baikal Skullcap itself has no known interaction with Levodopa, 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 Baikal Skullcap and Levodopa 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 Baikal Skullcap

Top 25%

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

29 days ago today

Medication Levodopa

Top 25%

#317 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 Baikal Skullcap reference on this page ↓
Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Baikal Skullcap and Levodopa 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 Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS.

Supplement

About Baikal Skullcap

What is Baikal Skullcap?

Inflammation
Allergies
Anxiety and sleep
Immune support
Respiratory infections

Baikal skullcap is a traditional Chinese herb (Huang Qin) used for inflammation, allergies, and infections, with active compounds like baicalin and baicalein studied mostly in the lab. Human evidence remains limited, so it should not replace proven treatments. Talk to your pharmacist or doctor before using it, and avoid it in pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Scutellaria baicalensis · Lamiaceae · Root · Capsules, tablets, tinctures, dried root, teas, and standardized extracts

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

Baikal Skullcap: dosing

There is no well-established standard dose of Baikal skullcap. Products differ widely in their strength and in how much baicalin or baicalein they contain.The best approach is to follow the directions on the product label and not exceed the recommended amount.

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

Read the full Baikal Skullcap monograph & all interactions

Medication

About Levodopa Oral Inhalation

What Is Levodopa Oral Inhalation Used For?

Brand names: Larodopa, Inbrija

Inbrija is used to treat OFF episodes in adults with Parkinson's disease. An OFF episode is when your regular oral carbidopa/levodopa medication temporarily stops working well enough, causing Parkinson's symptoms — such as stiffness, slowness, or tremor — to return.

Inbrija is used as needed when OFF symptoms start to come back. It is not a replacement for your regular oral carbidopa/levodopa; it works alongside it.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Levodopa

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (0 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Fall 5,276 reports

Hallucination 4,813 reports

Tremor 3,805 reports

Dyskinesia 3,626 reports

Parkinson^s disease 3,449 reports

See full Levodopa Oral Inhalation drug information

Keep checking

Other Drugs & Baikal Skullcap

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

0Major

594Moderate

352Minor

1,883No known interaction

594 Moderate 352 Minor 1,883 No interaction

Moderate

594 interactions

Showing 60 of 594 moderate interactions — see all 594 on the Baikal Skullcap page.

Minor

352 interactions

Showing 60 of 352 minor interactions — see all 352 on the Baikal Skullcap page.

No interaction 1,883 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 1,883 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Baikal Skullcap list.

See the full Baikal Skullcap interactions page

See every supplement checked against Levodopa, ranked by severity

Evidence & sources

Baikal Skullcap References

The 34 references that drive our Baikal Skullcap 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.

Huang KC. The pharmacology of Chinese herbs. 2nd ed. New York, NY: CRC Press LLC. 1999;385-6, 400-1.
Hui KM, Wang XH, Xue H. Interaction of flavones from the roots of Scutellaria baicalensis with the benzodiazepine site. Planta Med 2000;66:91-3.
Liao JF, Wang HH, Chen MC, et al. Benzodiazepine binding site-interactive flavones from Scutellaria baicalensis root. Planta Med 1998;64:571-2.
Nishioka T, Kawabata J, Aoyama Y. Baicalein, an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor from Scutellaria baicalensis. J Nat Prod 1998;61:1413-5.
Zhang CZ, Wang SX, Zhang Y, et al. In vitro estrogenic activities of Chinese medicinal plants traditionally used for the management of menopausal symptoms. J Ethnopharmacol 2005;98:295-300. PubMed
Fan L, Zhang W, Guo D, et al. The effect of herbal medicine baicalin on pharmacokinetics of rosuvastatin, substrate of organic anion-transporting polypeptide 1B1. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2007;83:471-6. PubMed
Chen C, Mireles RJ, Campbell SD, et al. Differential interaction of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors with ABCB1, ABCC2, and OATP1B1. Drug Metab Dispos 2005;33:537-46. PubMed
Pasanen MK, Fredrikson H, Neuvonen PJ, Niemi M. Different effects of SLCO1B1 polymorphism on the pharmacokinetics of atorvastatin and rosuvastatin. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2007;82:726-33. PubMed
Konig J, Seithel A, Gradhand U, Fromm MF. Pharmacogenomics of human OATP transporters. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg Arch Pharmacol 2006;372:432-43. PubMed
Chalasani N, Vuppalanchi R, Navarro V, et al. Acute liver injury due to flavocoxid (Limbrel), a medical food for osteoarthritis: a case series. Ann Intern Med 2012;156:857-60. PubMed
Reichenbach S, Juni P. Medical food and food supplements: not always as safe as generally assumed. Ann Intern Med 2012;156:894-5. PubMed
Huang, W. M., Yan, J., and Xu, J. [Clinical and experimental study on inhibitory effect of sanhuang mixture on platelet aggregation]. Zhongguo Zhong.Xi.Yi.Jie.He.Za Zhi. 1995;15(8):465-467.
Kim, B. R., Kim, D. H., Park, R., Kwon, K. B., Ryu, D. G., Kim, Y. C., Kim, N. Y., Jeong, S., Kang, B. K., and Kim, K. S. Effect of an extract of the root of Scutellaria baicalensis and its flavonoids on aflatoxin B1 oxidizing cytochrome P450 enzymes. Pl PubMed
Lee, Y., Yeo, H., Liu, S. H., Jiang, Z., Savizky, R. M., Austin, D. J., and Cheng, Y. C. Increased anti-P-glycoprotein activity of baicalein by alkylation on the A ring. J Med Chem 10-21-2004;47(22):5555-5566. PubMed
Huang, Y., Tsang, S. Y., Yao, X., and Chen, Z. Y. Biological properties of baicalein in cardiovascular system. Curr Drug Targets.Cardiovasc.Haematol.Disord 2005;5(2):177-184. PubMed
Lee, E., Enomoto, R., Suzuki, C., Ohno, M., Ohashi, T., Miyauchi, A., Tanimoto, E., Maeda, K., Hirano, H., Yokoi, T., and Sugahara, C. Wogonin, a plant flavone, potentiates etoposide-induced apoptosis in cancer cells. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2007;1095:521-526. PubMed
Waisundara, V. Y., Hsu, A., Huang, D., and Tan, B. K. Scutellaria baicalensis enhances the anti-diabetic activity of metformin in streptozotocin-induced diabetic Wistar rats. Am J Chin Med 2008;36(3):517-540.
Go, W. J., Ryu, J. H., Qiang, F., and Han, H. K. Evaluation of the flavonoid oroxylin A as an inhibitor of P-glycoprotein-mediated cellular efflux. J Nat Prod 2009;72(9):1616-1619. PubMed
Linnebur, S. A., Rapacchietta, O. C., and Vejar, M. Hepatotoxicity associated with chinese skullcap contained in Move Free Advanced dietary supplement: two case reports and review of the literature. Pharmacotherapy 2010;30(7):750, 258e-750, 262e. PubMed
Enomoto, R., Koshiba, C., Suzuki, C., and Lee, E. Wogonin potentiates the antitumor action of etoposide and ameliorates its adverse effects. Cancer Chemother.Pharmacol 2011;67(5):1063-1072. PubMed
Chang, H. H., Yi, P. L., Cheng, C. H., Lu, C. Y., Hsiao, Y. T., Tsai, Y. F., Li, C. L., and Chang, F. C. Biphasic effects of baicalin, an active constituent of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, in the spontaneous sleep-wake regulation. J Ethnopharmacol. 5- PubMed
Li, T., Li, N., Guo, Q., Ji, H., Zhao, D., Xie, S., Li, X., Qiu, Z., Han, D., Chen, X., and You, Q. Inhibitory effects of wogonin on catalytic activity of cytochrome P450 enzyme in human liver microsomes. Eur J Drug Metab Pharmacokinet. 6-29-2011; PubMed
Lin H, Zhou J, Lin K, et al. Efficacy of Scutellaria baicalensis for the treatment of hand, foot, and mouth disease associated with encephalitis in patients infected with EV71: a multicenter, retrospective analysis. Biomed Res Int 2016;2016:5697571.
Papafragkakis C, Ona MA, Reddy M, Anand S. Acute hepatitis after ingestion of a preparation of Chinese skullcap and black catechu for joint pain. Case Reports Heptal 2016;2016:4356749. PubMed
Kim M, Lee BC. Therapeutic effect of Scutellaria baicalensis on L-thyroxine-induced hyperthyroidism rats. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019;2019:3239649.
Braude MR, Bassily R. Drug-induced liver injury secondary to Scutellaria baicalensis (Chinese skullcap). Intern Med J. 2019;49(4):544-546. PubMed
Shin NR, Gu N, Choi HS, Kim H. Combined effects of Scutellaria baicalensis with metformin on glucose tolerance of patients with type 2 diabetes via gut microbiota modulation. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2020;318(1):E52-E61.
Li WJ, Bao J, Zheng DC, et al. Treatments of Peyronie's disease with Scutellaria baicalensis and surgery according to the disease course: a single-center retrospective study of 261 patients. Ann Palliat Med. 2021 Mar;10(3):2979-2989. PubMed
Adam T, Bursztejn AC, Schmutz JL. Facial eczema from a sunscreen: Scutellaria baicalensis, a novel allergen beginning to attract attention. Contact Dermatitis. 2020 Apr;82(4):253-254.
Luna-Bastante L, Gatica-Ortega ME, Pastor-Nieto MA, et al. Allergic contact dermatitis to Tinosorb S, Scutellaria baicalensis, and other emerging allergens in cosmetics. Contact Dermatitis. 2020 May;82(5):307-309.
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA Alerts Consumers About Potentially Life-Threatening Health Problems Linked to Limbrel. December 19, 2017. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-alerts-consumers-about-pot
Li L, Gao H, Lou K, et al. Safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of oral baicalein tablets in healthy Chinese subjects: A single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multiple-ascending-dose study. Clin Transl Sci 2021;14(5):2017-2024. PubMed
Badaoui A. Allergic contact dermatitis to resveratrol and Scutellaria baicalensis root extract in a cosmetic product. Contact Dermatitis 2022.
Nogami T, Arai M. Incidence of Herb-induced Liver Injury Caused by Kampo Formulae Containing Scutellariae Radix. Tokai J Exp Clin Med 2022;47(3):94-98.

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.

Related: nutrient depletion

Levodopa Is Linked to Lower Levels of 2 Nutrients

Natural Medicines records Levodopa as a medicine that can lower these. This is not an interaction with Baikal Skullcap — it is a separate effect of the medicine, and it is a reason some people are advised to supplement rather than to avoid one:

Read the full Levodopa nutrient depletion report ›

Depletion records come from the licensed Natural Medicines database. Do not start a supplement on the strength of this page — ask your pharmacist or doctor whether it applies to you.

Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Baikal Skullcap and Levodopa Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Baikal Skullcap with Levodopa?

We do not list a known interaction between Baikal Skullcap and Levodopa. 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 Baikal Skullcap and Levodopa have any of the same side effects?

Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 5 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 Baikal Skullcap and Levodopa combination checked?

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Levodopa is filed under 5 classifications, and Baikal Skullcap has documented interactions with 12 drug classes — none of Levodopa'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 Baikal Skullcap interact with any other medications?

Yes. Baikal Skullcap has 946 documented drug interactions in our database — Levodopa 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 Levodopa interact with any supplements?

Yes. Levodopa has documented interactions with 41 supplements in our database — Baikal Skullcap is not one of them. The Levodopa 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

Baikal Skullcap monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Levodopa Oral Inhalation drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Levodopa supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Levodopa, 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 34 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Levodopa and Baikal Skullcap?

Our pharmacists answer your medication & supplement questions — free.

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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.