Drug & supplement interaction

Benfotiamine + Interferon Alfa-2b

Interferon Alfa-2b brand names: Rebetron, Intron A, Viraferon.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Benfotiamine and Interferon Alfa-2b 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

Benfotiamine and Interferon Alfa-2b

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 Interferon Alfa-2b and Benfotiamine 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.

Worth understanding: our licensed dataset holds no drug-interaction record for Benfotiamine at all — not against Interferon Alfa-2b, and not against any other medication we track. This verdict therefore rests on the absence of any recorded data, not on research that looked at this combination and found nothing. We cannot rule an interaction out.

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.

Benfotiamine safety at a glance

Benfotiamine overall Use caution Generally well tolerated in studies, but long-term safety is not fully known.
Pregnancy Use caution Not enough safety information exists, so avoid unless your doctor advises otherwise.
Breastfeeding Use caution Safety while breastfeeding has not been well studied, so caution is advised.

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

Still wondering about combining Interferon Alfa-2b and Benfotiamine? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
What to actually watch for

What Benfotiamine Itself Has Been Linked To

This is not an interaction — nothing below involves Interferon Alfa-2b. It is the side-effect record for Benfotiamine on its own, from the licensed Natural Medicines monograph. If something new turns up after you add Benfotiamine, this list is the first place to look.

  • Stomach upset Additional detail

    “Orally, slight gastrointestinal discomfort has been reported in six out of 98 patients taking benfotiamine 300-600 mg daily for 6 weeks in one clinical study. The rate of adverse events was not different between treatment and placebo groups.”

    Benfotiamine · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in myasthenia gravis.

    1 source cited
    1. 98032. Stracke H, Gaus W, Achenbach U, Federlin K, Bretzel RG. Benfotiamine in diabetic polyneuropathy (BENDIP): results of a randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical study. Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes 2008;116(10):600-5. PubMed

Everything above comes from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record for Benfotiamine — expand a row for the licensed statement it rests on. We haven’t matched Interferon Alfa-2b 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 Interferon Alfa-2b.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Interferon Alfa-2b

This page covers Benfotiamine only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Interferon Alfa-2b page lists 57 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Beer (major), Siberian Cocklebur (major), Wine (major), Alfalfa (moderate) and Angelica Archangelica (moderate).

By severity: 3 major · 53 moderate · 1 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Interferon Alfa-2b page

“People taking interferon alfa-2b (Intron A, Rebetron) are usually treating hepatitis or a cancer, so the liver may already be under strain, and that is exactly where most of this list points. Of the 57 supplements on file, 38 can add to liver stress, and all three major-rated interactions sit in that group: Siberian cocklebur, which ha…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Interferon Alfa-2b interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 358 real supplement products containing Benfotiamine, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Benfotiamine. Even though Benfotiamine itself has no known interaction with Interferon Alfa-2b, 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 Benfotiamine and Interferon Alfa-2b 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 Benfotiamine
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Interferon Alfa-2b
Steady interest

#1,628 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 Benfotiamine reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Benfotiamine and Interferon Alfa-2b 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 Benfotiamine

What is Benfotiamine?

Benfotiamine
  • Diabetic nerve pain (neuropathy)
  • Supporting healthy nerve function
  • Thiamine deficiency
  • Oxidative stress
  • General wellness

Benfotiamine is a man-made, fat-soluble form of vitamin B1 (thiamine) that the body may absorb more easily than regular thiamine. It is mostly studied for diabetic nerve problems, but the evidence is mixed and limited, so it should not replace prescribed treatments. Talk with your pharmacist or doctor before starting it.

Synthetic compound (a derivative of vitamin B1) · Tablets, capsules

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

Benfotiamine: dosing

There is no official standardized dose of benfotiamine for any condition. Do not assume that taking more will work better, and avoid using it to self-treat a serious condition without medical guidance.

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

Read the full Benfotiamine monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Interferon Alfa-2b Injection

What Is Interferon Alfa-2b Injection Used For?

Brand names: Rebetron, Intron A, Viraferon

  • Interferon alfa-2b injection is used to treat a number of conditions.

  • Interferon alfa-2b injection is used

    • alone or in combination with ribavirin (Copegus, Rebetol, Ribasphere) to treat chronic (long-term) hepatitis C infection (swelling of the liver caused by a virus) in people who show signs of liver damage,

    • to treat chronic hepatitis B infection (swelling of the liver caused by a virus) in people who show signs of liver damage,

    • to treat hairy cell leukemia (a white blood cell cancer),

    • to treat genital warts,

    • to treat Kaposi's sarcoma (a type of cancer that causes abnormal tissue to grow on different parts of the body) related to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS),

    • to treat malignant melanoma (a cancer that begins in certain skin cells) in certain people who have had surgery to remove the cancer,

    • along with another medication to treat follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL; a slow-growing blood cancer).

  • Interferon alfa-2b is in a class of medications called immunomodulators. Interferon alfa-2b works to treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) by decreasing the amount virus in the body. Interferon alfa-2b may not cure hepatitis B or hepatitis C or prevent you from developing complications from these infections such as cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, liver failure, or liver cancer. It also may not prevent the spread of hepatitis B or C to other people. It is not known exactly how interferon alfa-2b works to treat cancer or genital warts.

See full Interferon Alfa-2b Injection drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Benfotiamine

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

0Major
0Moderate
0Minor
2,829No known interaction
No interaction 2,829 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Benfotiamine References

The 1 references that drive our Benfotiamine 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. Stracke H, Gaus W, Achenbach U, Federlin K, Bretzel RG. Benfotiamine in diabetic polyneuropathy (BENDIP): results of a randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical study. Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes 2008;116(10):600-5. 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 Benfotiamine and Interferon Alfa-2b Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Benfotiamine with Interferon Alfa-2b?
We do not list a known interaction between Benfotiamine and Interferon Alfa-2b. 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.
Does Interferon Alfa-2b interact with any supplements?
Yes. Interferon Alfa-2b has documented interactions with 57 supplements in our database — Benfotiamine is not one of them. The Interferon Alfa-2b interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

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

Still Have a Question About Interferon Alfa-2b and Benfotiamine?

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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.