Drug & supplement interaction

Cobalt + Penicillamine

Penicillamine brand names: Cuprimine, Depen Titratable.

No Known Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 20, 2026
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Cobalt and Penicillamine 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 Penicillamine states a food rule worth keeping to, and 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

Cobalt and Penicillamine

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 Penicillamine and Cobalt 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 Cobalt at all — not against Penicillamine, 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.

Cobalt safety at a glance

Cobalt overall Avoid Inorganic cobalt supplements have no proven benefit and can cause serious toxicity, so they are generally not recommended.
Pregnancy Avoid Cobalt supplements should be avoided during pregnancy because of toxicity concerns and a lack of safety data.
Breastfeeding Avoid Avoid cobalt supplements while breastfeeding; rely on vitamin B12 for any needed cobalt.

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

Still wondering about combining Penicillamine and Cobalt? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Cobalt and Penicillamine 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. One of them is worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Anemia Worth acting on Additional detail

    Cobalt

    “Oral, occupational, and systemic exposure to cobalt may cause adverse ocular and otic effects. While rare, reversible and irreversible vision loss, optic neuropathy and atrophy, signs of abnormal retinal functioning, hearing loss, bilateral deafness, and tinnitus have been reported in patients taking cobalt for anemia, working in industries with exposure to cobalt dust, and those with cobalt-containing prosthetic joi…”

    Cobalt · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in anemia.

    3 sources cited
    1. 102068. Lim CA, Khan J, Chelva E, Khan R, Unsworth-Smith T. The effect of cobalt on the human eye. Doc Ophthalmol 2015;130(1):43-8. PubMed
    2. 102074. Paustenbach DJ, Galbraith DA, Finley BL. Interpreting cobalt blood concentrations in hip implant patients. Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2014;52(2):98-112. PubMed
    3. 102077. Catalani S, Rizzetti MC, Padovani A, Apostoli P. Neurotoxicity of cobalt. Hum Exp Toxicol 2012;31(5):421-37. PubMed

    “Oral, occupational, and systemic exposure to cobalt may cause cardiomyopathy. While rare, this adverse effect has been reported in patients taking cobalt for anemia, consuming cobalt-fortified beer, working in industries with exposure to cobalt dust, and those with cobalt-containing prosthetic joints.”

    Cobalt · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in anemia.

    2 sources cited
    1. 102066. Packer M. Cobalt cardiomyopathy: a critical reappraisal in light of a recent resurgence. Circ Heart Fail 2016;9(12). pii: e003604. PubMed
    2. 102076. Zywiel MG, Cherian JJ, Banerjee S, et al. Systemic cobalt toxicity from total hip arthroplasties: review of a rare condition Part 2. measurement, risk factors, and step-wise approach to treatment. Bone Joint J 2016;98-B(1):14-20. PubMed

    Penicillamine

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Penicillamine. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Ringing in the ears Additional detail

    Cobalt

    Recorded for Cobalt in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Anemia above.

    Penicillamine

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Penicillamine. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • A skin rash Additional detail

    Cobalt

    “Orally, cobalt seems to be well-tolerated when taken for up to 90 days in small amounts. Taking cobalt orally long-term or in high doses may cause cardiomyopathy, hearing loss, and vision loss. Topically, cobalt-containing products can cause allergic contact dermatitis in some patients.”

    Cobalt · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in dermatitis.

    6 sources cited
    1. 102066. Packer M. Cobalt cardiomyopathy: a critical reappraisal in light of a recent resurgence. Circ Heart Fail 2016;9(12). pii: e003604. PubMed
    2. 102068. Lim CA, Khan J, Chelva E, Khan R, Unsworth-Smith T. The effect of cobalt on the human eye. Doc Ophthalmol 2015;130(1):43-8. PubMed
    3. 102077. Catalani S, Rizzetti MC, Padovani A, Apostoli P. Neurotoxicity of cobalt. Hum Exp Toxicol 2012;31(5):421-37. PubMed
    4. 102070. Fowler JF Jr. Cobalt. Dermatitis 2016;27(1):3-8.
    5. 102071. Zajdel NJ, Smith WA, Taintor AR, Jacob SE, Olasz EB. Chemical tattoo treatment leading to systemic cobalt hypersensitivity. Skinmed 2017;15(3):221-2.
    6. 102072. Bregnbak D, Opstrup MS, Jellesen MS, Johansen JD, Thyssen JP. Allergic contact dermatitis caused by cobalt in leather - clinical cases. Contact Dermatitis 2017;76(6):366-8. PubMed

    “Topically, cobalt can cause allergic contact dermatitis. Numerous cases of allergic skin reactions have been reported after contact with cobalt in leather goods, jewelry, nail polishes, cobalt blue tattoo ink, and cement.”

    Cobalt · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in dermatitis.

    5 sources cited
    1. 102069. Guarneri F, Guarneri C, Cannavò SP. Nail-art and cobalt allergy. Contact Dermatitis 2010;62(5):320-1. PubMed
    2. 102070. Fowler JF Jr. Cobalt. Dermatitis 2016;27(1):3-8.
    3. 102071. Zajdel NJ, Smith WA, Taintor AR, Jacob SE, Olasz EB. Chemical tattoo treatment leading to systemic cobalt hypersensitivity. Skinmed 2017;15(3):221-2.
    4. 102072. Bregnbak D, Opstrup MS, Jellesen MS, Johansen JD, Thyssen JP. Allergic contact dermatitis caused by cobalt in leather - clinical cases. Contact Dermatitis 2017;76(6):366-8. PubMed
    5. 102073. Simonsen AB, Friis UF, Johansen JD, Zachariae C, Sloth JJ, Thyssen JP. Occupational allergic contact dermatitis caused by cobalt in machine oil. Contact Dermatitis 2019;80(1):59-61. PubMed

    Penicillamine

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Penicillamine. Read the label on DailyMed ›

Reported for Cobalt but not commonly for Penicillamine: a change in thyroid levels, memory problems, hearing loss and seizures.

Effects for Penicillamine come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Cobalt come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 917 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Penicillamine 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.

How to take them

Some Penicillamine Products Have a Food Rule — Cobalt Should Not Break It

At least one FDA label for a product containing Penicillamine says to take it on an empty stomach. Most supplements — Cobalt included — are taken with a meal, so the easy mistake is swallowing both together at breakfast. Where that rule applies, keep Penicillamine on its own and move Cobalt to a meal later in the day.

This may not be true of your version. Food instructions belong to the product, not the ingredient: two Penicillamine 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.

DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION In all patients receiving penicillamine, it is important that CUPRIMINE be given on an empty stomach, at least one hour before meals or two hours after meals, and at least one hour apart from any other drug, food, or milk.

From the Dosage and Administration section of the FDA label we read for Penicillamine — 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.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Penicillamine

This page covers Cobalt only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Penicillamine page lists 26 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Asarabacca (major), Siberian Cocklebur (major), Aristolochia (moderate) and Coffee Charcoal (moderate).

By severity: 3 major · 13 moderate · 10 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Penicillamine page

“People take penicillamine (Cuprimine, Depen) for demanding conditions, Wilson's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, cystinuria, and its 26 supplement interactions are not a list to skim, three of them rated major. Seventeen ingredients can keep an oral dose from being fully absorbed, activated charcoal chief among them, and six more can str…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Penicillamine interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 120 real supplement products containing Cobalt, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Cobalt. Even though Cobalt itself has no known interaction with Penicillamine, 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 Cobalt and Penicillamine 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 Cobalt
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Penicillamine
Steady interest

#2,598 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 Cobalt reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Cobalt and Penicillamine 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 Cobalt

What is Cobalt?

  • Anemia (historically)
  • Part of vitamin B12 nutrition
  • General 'energy' tonics (unproven)
  • Athletic or performance claims (unproven and risky)

Cobalt is a trace element that the body only needs as part of vitamin B12 (cobalamin); there is no proven reason to take inorganic cobalt supplements, and doing so can be harmful. If you need cobalt for nutrition, get it through vitamin B12 from food or a B12 supplement, not from standalone cobalt products.

Cobalt is a chemical element (a trace mineral), not a plant part · Cobalt salts, supplement tablets (rare and discouraged), and as part of vitamin B12 (cobalamin)

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

Cobalt: dosing

There is no established safe or beneficial dose of inorganic cobalt as a dietary supplement, and health professionals generally do not recommend taking it.The cobalt your body actually needs is supplied through vitamin B12. For B12, follow the dose on the product label or your doctor's advice.

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

Read the full Cobalt monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Penicillamine

What Is Penicillamine Used For?

Brand names: Cuprimine, Depen Titratable

Penicillamine is used for three distinct conditions. It treats Wilson's disease — a rare genetic disorder in which the body accumulates dangerous levels of copper — by binding to the excess copper and helping the body remove it. It also treats cystinuria, a condition where the amino acid cystine builds up and forms painful kidney stones, by converting cystine into a more soluble form that the body can excrete more easily.

For patients with severe, active rheumatoid arthritis who have not responded adequately to conventional therapies, penicillamine (available as Aagylur, Cuprimine, Depen, and other products) may be used to help suppress disease activity and reduce joint pain, tenderness, and swelling.

See full Penicillamine drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Cobalt

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Cobalt — 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
2,829 No interaction
No interaction 2,829 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,829 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Cobalt list.

See the full Cobalt interactions page
See every supplement checked against Penicillamine, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Cobalt References

The 11 references that drive our Cobalt 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. Packer M. Cobalt cardiomyopathy: a critical reappraisal in light of a recent resurgence. Circ Heart Fail 2016;9(12). pii: e003604. PubMed
  2. Adams TN, Butt YM, Batra K, Glazer CS. Cobalt related interstitial lung disease. Respir Med 2017;129:91-7. PubMed
  3. Lim CA, Khan J, Chelva E, Khan R, Unsworth-Smith T. The effect of cobalt on the human eye. Doc Ophthalmol 2015;130(1):43-8. PubMed
  4. Guarneri F, Guarneri C, Cannavò SP. Nail-art and cobalt allergy. Contact Dermatitis 2010;62(5):320-1. PubMed
  5. Fowler JF Jr. Cobalt. Dermatitis 2016;27(1):3-8.
  6. Zajdel NJ, Smith WA, Taintor AR, Jacob SE, Olasz EB. Chemical tattoo treatment leading to systemic cobalt hypersensitivity. Skinmed 2017;15(3):221-2.
  7. Bregnbak D, Opstrup MS, Jellesen MS, Johansen JD, Thyssen JP. Allergic contact dermatitis caused by cobalt in leather - clinical cases. Contact Dermatitis 2017;76(6):366-8. PubMed
  8. Simonsen AB, Friis UF, Johansen JD, Zachariae C, Sloth JJ, Thyssen JP. Occupational allergic contact dermatitis caused by cobalt in machine oil. Contact Dermatitis 2019;80(1):59-61. PubMed
  9. Paustenbach DJ, Galbraith DA, Finley BL. Interpreting cobalt blood concentrations in hip implant patients. Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2014;52(2):98-112. PubMed
  10. Zywiel MG, Cherian JJ, Banerjee S, et al. Systemic cobalt toxicity from total hip arthroplasties: review of a rare condition Part 2. measurement, risk factors, and step-wise approach to treatment. Bone Joint J 2016;98-B(1):14-20. PubMed
  11. Catalani S, Rizzetti MC, Padovani A, Apostoli P. Neurotoxicity of cobalt. Hum Exp Toxicol 2012;31(5):421-37. 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 Cobalt and Penicillamine Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Cobalt with Penicillamine?
We do not list a known interaction between Cobalt and Penicillamine. 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 Cobalt and Penicillamine have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 3 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.
Should I take Cobalt and Penicillamine at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Penicillamine says to take it on an empty stomach, and supplements are usually taken with a meal — so taking them together at breakfast is the easy mistake. Where that applies, keep Penicillamine on its own and move Cobalt to a meal later in the day. Food instructions belong to the product rather than the ingredient, so check the directions on your own box. This is about absorption, not an interaction.
Does Penicillamine interact with any supplements?
Yes. Penicillamine has documented interactions with 26 supplements in our database — Cobalt is not one of them. The Penicillamine 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

Cobalt monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Penicillamine drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Penicillamine supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Penicillamine, 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 11 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Penicillamine and Cobalt?

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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.