Drug & supplement interaction

Chinese Prickly Ash + Cefpodoxime Proxetil

Cefpodoxime Proxetil brand name: Vantin.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Chinese Prickly Ash and Cefpodoxime Proxetil 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

Chinese Prickly Ash and Cefpodoxime Proxetil

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 Cefpodoxime Proxetil and Chinese Prickly Ash 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.

Chinese Prickly Ash safety at a glance

Chinese Prickly As... overall Use caution Generally safe as a food spice, but medicinal-strength extracts are not well studied in people.
Pregnancy Avoid Avoid medicinal amounts during pregnancy because safety has not been established.
Breastfeeding Avoid Avoid medicinal use while breastfeeding due to a lack of safety data.

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

Still wondering about combining Cefpodoxime Proxetil and Chinese Prickly Ash? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Cefpodoxime Proxetil

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Cefpodoxime Proxetil is filed under 6 classifications — including organic anion transporter 3 (oat3) substrates, organic anion transporter 1 (oat1) substrates, antibiotic drugs. Chinese Prickly Ash has documented interactions with 1 drug class — the most serious being anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs (moderate) — and none of Cefpodoxime Proxetil’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

Chinese Prickly Ash Does Interact With Other Medications

Chinese Prickly Ash has 122 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Cefpodoxime Proxetil 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 Chinese Prickly Ash

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

What to actually watch for

What Cefpodoxime Proxetil’s Own FDA Label Lists

This is not an interaction — none of it involves Chinese Prickly Ash. These are the most notable effects listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of Cefpodoxime Proxetil’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. 10 of them are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • A stroke or mini-stroke Worth acting on
  • Pain or burning when passing urine Worth acting on
  • Dehydration Worth acting on
  • High potassium Worth acting on
  • Low sodium Worth acting on
  • Low blood sugar Worth acting on
  • Hallucinations Worth acting on
  • Heart failure Worth acting on
  • High blood sugar Worth acting on
  • Fainting Worth acting on

Showing the 10 most notable of 68 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 Cefpodoxime Proxetil. Read the label on DailyMed › Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 977 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Cefpodoxime Proxetil that mention that effect — a reporting proportion, not an incidence rate and not evidence the drug caused it. Chinese Prickly Ash’s licensed record lists no adverse effects our clinical vocabulary could match, so there is no Chinese Prickly Ash side to compare — that is a limit of the record, not a statement that Chinese Prickly Ash has no side effects.

From our Q&A

Questions About Chinese Prickly Ash or Cefpodoxime Proxetil

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Chinese Prickly Ash or Cefpodoxime Proxetil, 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 Cefpodoxime Proxetil

This page covers Chinese Prickly Ash only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Cefpodoxime Proxetil page lists 55 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), African Wild Potato (moderate), Bacillus Coagulans (moderate), Bacillus Subtilis (moderate) and Banderol (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 44 moderate · 10 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Cefpodoxime Proxetil page

“If you have been prescribed cefpodoxime proxetil (Vantin), an oral antibiotic, this list calls for genuine care, and activated charcoal is where to start. It is the only major-rated interaction among the 55 on file, and it can soak up the antibiotic in your gut, leaving you with less medicine than your infection needs.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Cefpodoxime Proxetil interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Chinese Prickly Ash and Cefpodoxime Proxetil 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 Chinese Prickly Ash
Steady interest

#1,035 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Cefpodoxime Proxetil
Top 25%

#460 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 Chinese Prickly Ash reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Chinese Prickly Ash and Cefpodoxime Proxetil 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 Chinese Prickly Ash

What is Chinese Prickly Ash?

  • Digestive upset and stomach pain
  • Toothache and oral numbing
  • Antimicrobial and antiparasitic use
  • Cooking spice (Sichuan pepper)
  • Mild pain relief

Chinese Prickly Ash is the fruit husk of Zanthoxylum bungeanum, best known as the Sichuan pepper that creates a tingling, numbing sensation on the tongue. It is widely used in cooking and traditional Chinese medicine for digestive complaints and pain, but strong human evidence for medicinal benefits is limited. Use culinary amounts safely, but talk to a pharmacist or doctor before using concentrated extracts.

Zanthoxylum bungeanum · Rutaceae · Dried fruit husks (pericarp), and sometimes the seeds and essential oil · Dried whole spice (Sichuan pepper), ground powder, essential oil, decoctions, and capsules

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

Chinese Prickly Ash: dosing

There is no established standardized medicinal dose for Chinese Prickly Ash. As a cooking spice, people use small culinary amounts to taste.If you choose a supplement, extract, or essential oil product, follow the directions on the product label and do not exceed them.

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

Read the full Chinese Prickly Ash monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Cefpodoxime

What Is Cefpodoxime Used For?

Brand name: Vantin

Cefpodoxime Proxetil treats mild to moderate bacterial infections in both adults and children. It is used for ear infections (acute otitis media), strep throat and tonsillitis, community-acquired pneumonia, acute bacterial flare-ups of chronic bronchitis, acute sinus infections (acute maxillary sinusitis), uncomplicated skin and skin structure infections, uncomplicated urinary tract infections (cystitis), and uncomplicated gonorrhea.

For gonorrhea, Cefpodoxime Proxetil treats uncomplicated urethral and cervical infections in men and women, and uncomplicated ano-rectal infections in women. It has not been shown effective for throat (pharyngeal) gonorrhea infections in men or women, or for rectal gonorrhea in men.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Cefpodoxime Proxetil

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (977 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Diarrhea 79 reports
Fever 76 reports
Pneumonia 69 reports
Dyspnea 50 reports
Fatigue 47 reports
See full Cefpodoxime drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Chinese Prickly Ash

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

0Major
122Moderate
0Minor
2,707No known interaction
Moderate

122 interactions

Showing 60 of 122 moderate interactions — see all 122 on the Chinese Prickly Ash page.

No interaction 2,707 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Chinese Prickly Ash References

The 2 references that drive our Chinese Prickly Ash 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. Yang YP, Cheng MJ, Teng CM, et al. Chemical and anti-platelet constituents from Formosan Zanthoxylum simulans. Phytochemistry 2002;61:567-72.. PubMed
  2. Zeng X, Li X, Wang X, Wen X, Jiang X. The effect of Zanthoxylum bungeanum maxim extract on crow's feet: A double-blind, split-face trial. Dermatol Ther. 2019 Nov;32(6):e13079.

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 Chinese Prickly Ash and Cefpodoxime Proxetil Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Chinese Prickly Ash with Cefpodoxime Proxetil?
We do not list a known interaction between Chinese Prickly Ash and Cefpodoxime Proxetil. 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.
How was the Chinese Prickly Ash and Cefpodoxime Proxetil combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Cefpodoxime Proxetil is filed under 6 classifications, and Chinese Prickly Ash has documented interactions with 1 drug class — none of Cefpodoxime Proxetil'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 Chinese Prickly Ash interact with any other medications?
Yes. Chinese Prickly Ash has 122 documented drug interactions in our database — Cefpodoxime Proxetil 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 Cefpodoxime Proxetil interact with any supplements?
Yes. Cefpodoxime Proxetil has documented interactions with 55 supplements in our database — Chinese Prickly Ash is not one of them. The Cefpodoxime Proxetil 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 Cefpodoxime Proxetil and Chinese Prickly Ash?

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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.