Drug & supplement interaction

Chinese Prickly Ash + Tapinarof

Tapinarof brand name: Vtama.

No Known Interaction

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS · Updated June 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 20, 2026

The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Chinese Prickly Ash and Tapinarof 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 Tapinarof

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 Tapinarof 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 Tapinarof and Chinese Prickly Ash? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›

How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Tapinarof

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Tapinarof is filed under a single classification — topical drugs. Chinese Prickly Ash has documented interactions with 1 drug class — the most serious being anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs (moderate) — and none of Tapinarof’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 — Tapinarof isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 122 No known interaction 2,708 (incl. Tapinarof)

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 Tapinarof’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 Tapinarof’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. 3 of them are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

Wheezing Worth acting on
Hives Worth acting on
A higher chance of infection Worth acting on
Migraine
Pain in an arm or leg
A stuffy or runny nose
Sore throat
Cough
Joint pain
Itching

Showing the 10 most notable of 14 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 Tapinarof. Read the label on DailyMed › 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.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Tapinarof

This page covers Chinese Prickly Ash only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Tapinarof page lists 3 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Dimethylsulfoxide (dmso) (moderate), Turpentine Oil (moderate) and Alchemilla (minor).

By severity: 2 moderate · 1 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Tapinarof page

“Tapinarof (Vtama) is a cream you apply to psoriasis plaques, so every supplement interaction on record involves other things you put on your skin, three in total, and none rates major. The two moderate entries, DMSO and turpentine oil, may pull more of the cream through the skin than intended, which could amplify both its effect and it…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Tapinarof interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Chinese Prickly Ash and Tapinarof 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

#1,158 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Medication Tapinarof

Steady interest

#1,738 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 Tapinarof 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 Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS.

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 Tapinarof Topical

What Is Tapinarof Topical Used For?

Brand name: Vtama

Vtama cream, 1% is approved to treat plaque psoriasis in adults and atopic dermatitis (eczema) in adults and children 2 years of age and older. It is applied directly to affected skin.

For plaque psoriasis, Vtama cream is approved for adult use only. For atopic dermatitis, Vtama cream is approved for both adults and children as young as 2 years old. It has not been studied or approved for atopic dermatitis in children under 2, or for plaque psoriasis in children of any age.

See full Tapinarof Topical 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

122 Moderate 2,707 No 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

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,707 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Chinese Prickly Ash list.

See the full Chinese Prickly Ash interactions page

See every supplement checked against Tapinarof, ranked by severity

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.

Yang YP, Cheng MJ, Teng CM, et al. Chemical and anti-platelet constituents from Formosan Zanthoxylum simulans. Phytochemistry 2002;61:567-72.. PubMed
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 Tapinarof Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Chinese Prickly Ash with Tapinarof?

We do not list a known interaction between Chinese Prickly Ash and Tapinarof. 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 Tapinarof combination checked?

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Tapinarof is filed under 1 classification, and Chinese Prickly Ash has documented interactions with 1 drug class — none of Tapinarof'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 — Tapinarof 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 Tapinarof interact with any supplements?

Yes. Tapinarof has documented interactions with 3 supplements in our database — Chinese Prickly Ash is not one of them. The Tapinarof 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

Chinese Prickly Ash monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Tapinarof Topical drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Tapinarof supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Tapinarof, 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 2 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Tapinarof and Chinese Prickly Ash?

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.