Drug & supplement interaction

Brickellia + Mesalamine

Mesalamine brand names: Pentasa, Asacol, Canasa, Rowasa, Lialda, and others.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Brickellia and Mesalamine 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 Mesalamine states a food rule worth keeping to.

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Interaction report

Brickellia and Mesalamine

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 Mesalamine and Brickellia 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.

Brickellia safety at a glance

Brickellia overall Not established Human safety data are very limited, so use cautiously and under professional guidance.
Pregnancy Avoid Not enough safety information exists, so it is best avoided during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Avoid Safety while breastfeeding is unknown, so it is best avoided.

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

Still wondering about combining Mesalamine and Brickellia? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Mesalamine

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Mesalamine is filed under a single classification — oral drugs. Brickellia has documented interactions with 1 drug class — the most serious being antidiabetes drugs (moderate) — and none of Mesalamine’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

Brickellia Does Interact With Other Medications

Brickellia has 86 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Mesalamine 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 Brickellia

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

What to actually watch for

What Mesalamine’s Own FDA Label Lists

This is not an interaction — none of it involves Brickellia. These are the most notable effects listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of Mesalamine’s own FDA label, for the medication by itself. Knowing the drug’s own list makes it easier to work out the likely cause if something new turns up while you take both. 6 of them are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Kidney stones Worth acting on
  • Kidney problems Worth acting on
  • Anemia Worth acting on
  • Liver problems Worth acting on
  • A higher chance of infection Worth acting on
  • An allergic reaction Worth acting on
  • Sun sensitivity
  • Bloating or gas
  • Stomach pain
  • Diarrhea

Showing the 10 most notable of 12 label-listed effects — ranked by how unusual each one is across medicines generally, with serious effects weighted up.

From the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Mesalamine. Read the label on DailyMed › Brickellia’s licensed record lists no adverse effects our clinical vocabulary could match, so there is no Brickellia side to compare — that is a limit of the record, not a statement that Brickellia has no side effects.

How to take them

Some Mesalamine Products Have a Food Rule — Brickellia Should Not Break It

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

( 2 ) Administer mesalamine delayed-release tablets with food.

From the Dosage and Administration section of the FDA label we read for Mesalamine — 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 Brickellia or Mesalamine

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

This page covers Brickellia only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Mesalamine page lists 17 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Coffee Charcoal (moderate), European Mandrake (moderate), Glucomannan (moderate) and Guar Gum (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 7 moderate · 9 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Mesalamine page

“Activated charcoal is the one entry here I would treat as a genuine problem for anyone taking mesalamine (Asacol, Lialda, Pentasa, and others). It is the lone major-rated interaction among the 17 on file, because charcoal soaks up drugs in the gut and can pull mesalamine out of the picture before it does its job.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Mesalamine interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Brickellia and Mesalamine 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 Brickellia
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Mesalamine
Top 25%

#687 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 Brickellia reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Brickellia and Mesalamine records this page draws on were last updated June 20, 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 Brickellia

What is Brickellia?

  • Blood sugar support (diabetes)
  • Digestive complaints
  • Gallbladder and bile flow
  • Colds and fever

Brickellia, often sold under names like 'prodigiosa' or as a Mexican folk remedy for diabetes, is a plant in the daisy family traditionally brewed as a tea. Scientific evidence in humans is very limited, so its effectiveness and long-term safety are not well established. Talk with your pharmacist or doctor before using it, especially if you take medicines for blood sugar.

Brickellia grandiflora · Asteraceae · Leaves and flowering tops · Tea (infusion), dried herb, tincture, capsules

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

Brickellia: dosing

There is no established standardized dose for Brickellia. Traditional use is usually as a tea made from the dried leaves and flowering tops, but the strength of homemade preparations varies widely.If you choose to use a commercial product, follow the directions on the label and do not exceed them.

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

Read the full Brickellia monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Mesalamine

What Is Mesalamine Used For?

Brand names: Pentasa, Asacol, Canasa, Rowasa, Lialda, Delzicol

Mesalamine is used to treat mildly to moderately active ulcerative colitis — a condition where the lining of the large intestine becomes inflamed and ulcerated. Depending on the product and formulation, it can be used to bring the disease under control (induction of remission) and/or to keep it from coming back (maintenance of remission).

Different products target different parts of the lower digestive tract. Oral forms (tablets and capsules) treat the colon more broadly. Rectal forms — including enemas (ROWASA, sfROWASA, mesalamine rectal suspension) — are used for distal ulcerative colitis, proctosigmoiditis, or proctitis (inflammation limited to the lower end of the colon or rectum). Rectal suppositories (CANASA, mesalamine rectal suppositories) are specifically for ulcerative proctitis (inflammation of the rectum only).

See full Mesalamine drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Brickellia

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

0Major
86Moderate
0Minor
2,743No known interaction
Moderate

86 interactions

Showing 60 of 86 moderate interactions — see all 86 on the Brickellia page.

No interaction 2,743 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Brickellia References

The 5 references that drive our Brickellia 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. Rosler KH, Goodwin RS, Mabry TJ, et al. Flavonoids with anti-cataract activity from Brickellia arguta. J Nat Prod 1984;47:316-9. PubMed
  2. Andrade-Cetto A, Heinrich M. Mexican plants with hypoglycaemic effect used in the treatment of diabetes. J Ethnopharmacol 2005;99:325-48. PubMed
  3. Perez RM, Cervantes H, Zavala MA, et al. Isolation and hypoglycemic activity of 5, 7,3'-trihydroxy-3,6,4'-trimethoxyflavone from Brickellia veronicaefolia. Phytomedicine 2000;7:25-9.
  4. Escandón-Rivera S, González-Andrade M, Bye R, Linares E, Navarrete A, Mata R. α-glucosidase inhibitors from Brickellia cavanillesii. J Nat Prod. 2012;75(5):968-74.
  5. Palacios-Espinosa F, Déciga-Campos M, Mata R. Antinociceptive, hypoglycemic and spasmolytic effects of Brickellia veronicifolia. J Ethnopharmacol. 2008;118(3):448-54. 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 Brickellia and Mesalamine Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Brickellia with Mesalamine?
We do not list a known interaction between Brickellia and Mesalamine. 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.
Should I take Brickellia and Mesalamine at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Mesalamine says to take it with food. If you take Brickellia on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate and take Mesalamine with a meal where the label says to. Food instructions belong to the product rather than the ingredient — two Mesalamine products can differ — so check the directions on your own box. This is about absorption, not an interaction.
How was the Brickellia and Mesalamine combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Mesalamine is filed under 1 classification, and Brickellia has documented interactions with 1 drug class — none of Mesalamine'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 Brickellia interact with any other medications?
Yes. Brickellia has 86 documented drug interactions in our database — Mesalamine 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 Mesalamine interact with any supplements?
Yes. Mesalamine has documented interactions with 17 supplements in our database — Brickellia is not one of them. The Mesalamine 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 Mesalamine and Brickellia?

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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.