Drug & supplement interaction

Boneset + Promethazine

Promethazine brand name: Phenergan.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Boneset and Promethazine 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

Boneset and Promethazine

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 Promethazine and Boneset 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.

Boneset safety at a glance

Boneset overall Use caution Limited safety data and possible liver-toxic alkaloids mean it should be used carefully and short-term, if at all.
Pregnancy Possibly Unsafe When used orally. Hepatotoxic PAs are common in this genus of plants; however, the alkaloids in boneset have not been adequately characterized to determine thei... Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Possibly Unsafe When used orally. Hepatotoxic PAs are common in this genus of plants; however, the alkaloids in boneset have not been adequately characterized to determine thei... Read the full breastfeeding detail

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 Promethazine and Boneset? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Promethazine

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Promethazine is filed under 4 classifications — including phenothiazines, anticholinergic drugs, photosensitizing drugs. Boneset has documented interactions with 1 drug class — the most serious being cytochrome p450 3a4 (cyp3a4) inducers (moderate) — and none of Promethazine’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

Boneset Does Interact With Other Medications

Boneset has 87 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Promethazine isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Boneset

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Boneset and Promethazine 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.

  • Vomiting / Nausea reported in 11.7% of FDA reports for Promethazine Additional detail

    Boneset

    “Orally, boneset is reported to cause nausea and severe diarrhea and vomiting. Additionally, other plants in the Eupatorium genus contain the hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs). However, the alkaloids in boneset have not been adequately characterized to determine their toxic potential. Liver toxicity and liver damage may be possible in high doses.”

    Boneset · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in diarrhea.

    2 sources cited
    1. 12842. Roeder E. Medicinal plants in Europe containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Pharmazie 1995;50:83-98.
    2. 102557. Colegate SM, Upton R, Gardner DR, Panter KE, Betz JM. Potentially toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in Eupatorium perfoliatum and three related species. Implications for herbal use as boneset. Phytochem Anal. 2018;29(6):613-626.

    “Orally, boneset has been reported to cause nausea and severe diarrhea and vomiting.”

    Boneset · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in diarrhea.

    1 source cited
    1. 12842. Roeder E. Medicinal plants in Europe containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Pharmazie 1995;50:83-98.

    Promethazine

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Promethazine, and in voluntary FDA adverse-event reports. Read the label on DailyMed ›

Reported for Boneset but not commonly for Promethazine: liver problems and diarrhea.

Effects for Promethazine come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Boneset come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 22,361 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Promethazine 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

Boneset in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy And Lactation Possibly Unsafe

When used orally. Hepatotoxic PAs are common in this genus of plants; however, the alkaloids in boneset have not been adequately characterized to determine their toxic potential. Hepatotoxic PAs might be teratogenic; avoid using.

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

Overlapping uses

What Promethazine Is Prescribed For, and What Boneset Has Been Studied For

These two come up together because they touch the same health topic — not because they do the same job. Promethazine is a prescription medicine with approved uses on its FDA label. Boneset is a supplement: what follows is what researchers have looked at it for, and how strong that evidence is.

Promethazine is prescribed for: Promethazine is used for a wide range of conditions. Tablets, oral solution, and rectal suppositories (brands including Phenergan, Promethegan, and Phenadoz) are approved for seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis, vasomotor rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, hives (urticaria), angioedema, dermographism, and allergic reactions to blood or plasma. They are also used for motion sickness (both prevention and active treatment), nausea and vomiting related to anesthesia and surgery, sedation, and as a helper medication alongside pain relievers after surgery. Promethazine hydrochloride injection (brands including Phenergan and Promethazine HCl injection) is used for many of the same purposes but is reserved for situations where oral treatment is not possible — including allergic emergencies as an adjunct to epinephrine, sedation during labor, and as an aid during certain surgical procedures such as bronchoscopy and eye surgery.

Boneset has been studied for:

  • Common Cold studied, not established Boneset has been studied for this. Natural Medicines rates the evidence: Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Read what the research shows

    Boneset for common cold

    Preliminary clinical research shows that taking a specific homeopathic product (Eupatorium perfoliatum D2) derived from boneset has a similar effect to aspirin on symptoms of the common cold.

    1 source cited
    1. 36793. Gassinger, C. A., Wunstel, G., and Netter, P. [A controlled clinical trial for testing the efficacy of the homeopathic drug eupatorium perfoliatum D2 inthe treatment of common cold (author's transl)]. Arzneimittelforschung. 1981;31(4):732-736.

Effectiveness ratings and the research summaries above are the verbatim record from the Natural Medicines database, which grades evidence from “Effective” down to “Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate”. A rating below the top of that scale means researchers have looked at it — not that it works, and never that it can stand in for a prescribed medicine. Do not stop or replace Promethazine on your own; if you are taking Boneset for the same health topic, tell your prescriber, especially if the medicine is being adjusted to a target.

From our Q&A

Questions About Boneset or Promethazine

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

This page covers Boneset only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Promethazine page lists 83 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Henbane (major), Scopolia (major), Alfalfa (moderate) and Angel's Trumpet (moderate).

By severity: 3 major · 57 moderate · 23 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Promethazine page

“Promethazine (Phenergan) is a phenothiazine antihistamine used for allergies, nausea, and motion sickness, and it is strongly anticholinergic on its own, causing dry mouth, blurred vision, drowsiness, and constipation. That is why the 83 supplements and herbs on this list deserve real attention, starting with the three rated major.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Promethazine interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 118 real supplement products containing Boneset, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Boneset. Even though Boneset itself has no known interaction with Promethazine, 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 Boneset and Promethazine 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 Boneset
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Promethazine
Steady interest

#2,286 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 Boneset reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Boneset and Promethazine 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 Boneset

What is Boneset?

  • Colds and flu
  • Fever
  • Body aches
  • Congestion
  • Immune support

Boneset is a traditional North American herb long used in teas for fevers, colds, and flu, but modern human studies are very limited. It contains compounds (pyrrolizidine alkaloids) that may harm the liver, so it should be used cautiously and avoided during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Eupatorium perfoliatum · Asteraceae · Dried above-ground parts (leaves and flowering tops) · Tea, tincture, capsules, dried herb

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

Boneset: dosing

There is no well-established, standardized dose for boneset. Traditional preparations were usually made as a hot tea from the dried herb, but reliable modern dosing guidelines are not available.If you choose to use a commercial product, follow the directions on the label and do not exceed them.

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

Read the full Boneset monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Promethazine

What Is Promethazine Used For?

Brand name: Phenergan

Promethazine is used for a wide range of conditions. Tablets, oral solution, and rectal suppositories (brands including Phenergan, Promethegan, and Phenadoz) are approved for seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis, vasomotor rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, hives (urticaria), angioedema, dermographism, and allergic reactions to blood or plasma. They are also used for motion sickness (both prevention and active treatment), nausea and vomiting related to anesthesia and surgery, sedation, and as a helper medication alongside pain relievers after surgery.

Promethazine hydrochloride injection (brands including Phenergan and Promethazine HCl injection) is used for many of the same purposes but is reserved for situations where oral treatment is not possible — including allergic emergencies as an adjunct to epinephrine, sedation during labor, and as an aid during certain surgical procedures such as bronchoscopy and eye surgery.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Promethazine

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (22,614 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Dependence 3,586 reports
Nausea 2,646 reports
Vomiting 1,802 reports
Fatigue 1,496 reports
Diarrhea 1,341 reports
See full Promethazine drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Boneset

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

0Major
87Moderate
0Minor
2,742No known interaction
Moderate

87 interactions

Showing 60 of 87 moderate interactions — see all 87 on the Boneset page.

No interaction 2,742 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Boneset References

The 5 references that drive our Boneset 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. Chojkier M. Hepatic sinusoidal-obstruction syndrome: toxicity of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. J Hepatol 2003;39:437-46. PubMed
  2. Roeder E. Medicinal plants in Europe containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Pharmazie 1995;50:83-98.
  3. Wang YP, Yan J, Fu PP, Chou MW. Human liver microsomal reduction of pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxides to form the corresponding carcinogenic parent alkaloid. Toxicol Lett 2005;155:411-20. PubMed
  4. Gassinger, C. A., Wunstel, G., and Netter, P. [A controlled clinical trial for testing the efficacy of the homeopathic drug eupatorium perfoliatum D2 inthe treatment of common cold (author's transl)]. Arzneimittelforschung. 1981;31(4):732-736.
  5. Colegate SM, Upton R, Gardner DR, Panter KE, Betz JM. Potentially toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in Eupatorium perfoliatum and three related species. Implications for herbal use as boneset. Phytochem Anal. 2018;29(6):613-626.

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 Boneset and Promethazine Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Boneset with Promethazine?
We do not list a known interaction between Boneset and Promethazine. 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 Boneset and Promethazine 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.
Are Boneset and Promethazine used for the same thing?
They overlap in purpose, which usually means the real question is whether you need both rather than whether they are safe together. This page lists the shared uses and how strong the evidence is for Boneset in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Promethazine is being adjusted to a target.
How was the Boneset and Promethazine combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Promethazine is filed under 4 classifications, and Boneset has documented interactions with 1 drug class — none of Promethazine'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 Boneset interact with any other medications?
Yes. Boneset has 87 documented drug interactions in our database — Promethazine 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 Promethazine interact with any supplements?
Yes. Promethazine has documented interactions with 83 supplements in our database — Boneset is not one of them. The Promethazine 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 Promethazine and Boneset?

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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.