Drug & supplement interaction

Coconut Water + Tigecycline

Tigecycline brand name: Tygacil.

Moderate Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated July 2024
The bottom line Moderate

Coconut Water has a moderate interaction with Tigecycline. Many quinolone antibiotics, such as ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin, may have reduced absorption when taken with calcium-containing products due to chelation.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityModerate
LikelihoodProbable
EvidenceA
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Coconut Water and Tigecycline

Here is the interaction we found between these two, with the evidence behind it.

Moderate

Quinolone Antibiotics

Why this applies to Tigecycline

Tigecycline falls under Quinolone Antibiotics — the group Coconut Water interacts with.

Many quinolone antibiotics, such as ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin, may have reduced absorption when taken with calcium-containing products due to chelation. It is generally recommended to take quinolones at least 2 hours before or 6 hours after consuming oral products that contain calcium. The calcium content of coconut water varies by product but is generally between 100mg-300mg per 1,000mL. Consumption of a small amount of coconut water may be safe but it would be prudent to avoid drinking large amounts at the same time as a quinolone antibiotic. Reference: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2016/019537s086lbl.pdf
Severity Moderate Likelihood Probable Evidence A

Interaction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports..

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here's a small but worthwhile point about this pairing. The calcium (and other minerals) in coconut water can bind to certain antibiotics in your gut and keep some of the drug from being absorbed, which can weaken how well it fights your infection. The good news is that this concern mostly applies to pills you swallow. Tigecycline (Tygacil) is given as an IV infusion through a vein, so it skips the stomach entirely and isn't affected by what you eat or drink.

Because of that, sipping coconut water for hydration while you're on tigecycline shouldn't reduce the antibiotic's effect. Tigecycline is not a prodrug, so there's no activation step to worry about here. If you have kidney issues or are watching your potassium, still run the coconut water by your pharmacist or doctor.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction

What These Ratings Mean

Every interaction above is graded three ways — here’s the key to each label.

Severity how clinically significant the interaction is
Major

Clinically significant. Avoid the combination, or use only under close professional supervision.

Moderate

Usually worth avoiding or managing — may need monitoring, a dose change, or timing apart.

Minor

Generally not serious. Be aware of it and mention it to your pharmacist.

Likelihood how strong the evidence is that the interaction actually happens in people
  • LikelyWell-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction.
  • ProbableInteraction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports.
  • PossibleInteraction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.
  • UnlikelyInteraction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.
Evidence the quality of the studies behind the rating (graded A–D)
  • AHigh-quality meta-analysis (quantitative systematic review).
  • BCase-control study.
  • CConsensus.
  • DAnecdotal evidence.

These ratings are for information only. Never start, stop, or otherwise change your therapy before speaking with your provider.

Keep it in perspective

Coconut Water Also Interacts With Other Medications

Coconut Water has 192 moderate, 86 minor known drug interactions in our database — the Tigecycline one above is one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 192 Minor 86 No known interaction 2,552 (incl. Tigecycline)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Coconut Water

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Coconut Water or Tigecycline

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

This page covers Coconut Water only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Tigecycline page lists 98 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Oleander (major), Para-aminobenzoic Acid (paba) (major), Acerola (moderate), Alfalfa (moderate) and Alpha-lipoic Acid (moderate).

By severity: 2 major · 88 moderate · 8 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Tigecycline page

“Tigecycline (Tygacil) is an intravenous antibiotic usually reserved for serious or resistant infections, and its supplement list deserves real attention. The two major-rated entries come first: oleander, a heart-toxic plant whose compounds may build to dangerous levels with certain antibiotics on board, and PABA, which can blunt the an…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Tigecycline interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 67 real supplement products containing Coconut Water, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Coconut Water. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Tigecycline too, on top of Coconut Water — and those would not show on this page. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Coconut Water and Tigecycline 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 Coconut Water
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Tigecycline
Steady interest

#2,295 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.

Supplement

About Coconut Water

What is Coconut Water?

Coconut Water
  • Hydration
  • Rehydration after exercise
  • Electrolyte replacement
  • General wellness drink
  • Blood pressure support

Coconut water is a natural drink rich in potassium and other electrolytes that many people use for hydration, especially around exercise. For most healthy people it is a safe, tasty beverage, but it is not a proven medicine and should not replace medical electrolyte solutions for serious dehydration. People with kidney disease or those on potassium-affecting medicines should check with their pharmacist or doctor first.

Read the full Coconut Water monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Tigecycline Injection

What Is Tigecycline Injection Used For?

Brand name: Tygacil

Tygacil (tigecycline for injection) is approved for adults 18 and older to treat three types of serious bacterial infections: complicated skin and skin structure infections, complicated intra-abdominal (stomach and intestinal) infections, and community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (pneumonia caught outside a hospital).

It is not approved for diabetic foot infections or for pneumonia caught in a hospital setting, including ventilator-associated pneumonia — clinical trials showed it did not work well enough for those uses and was associated with higher mortality in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia.

See full Tigecycline Injection drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Coconut Water

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

0Major
192Moderate
86Minor
2,551No known interaction
192 Moderate 86 Minor 2,551 No interaction
Moderate

192 interactions

Showing 60 of 192 moderate interactions — see all 192 on the Coconut Water page.

Minor

86 interactions

Showing 60 of 86 minor interactions — see all 86 on the Coconut Water page.

No interaction 2,551 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,551 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Coconut Water list.

See the full Coconut Water interactions page
See every supplement checked against Tigecycline, ranked by severity
Sources

Sources & How We Checked

Interaction details are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database. The medication overview comes from MedlinePlus.

Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists. See our data sources and editorial standards for how this information is built and checked.

Parts of this content are provided by the Therapeutic Research Center, LLC.

DISCLAIMER: Currently this does not check for drug-drug interactions. This is not an all-inclusive comprehensive list of potential interactions and is for informational purposes only. Not all interactions are known or well-reported in the scientific literature, and new interactions are continually being reported. Input is needed from a qualified healthcare provider including a pharmacist before starting any therapy. Application of clinical judgment is necessary.

© 2021 Therapeutic Research Center, LLC

Keep exploring
Coconut Water monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place Tigecycline supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against Tigecycline, ranked by severity Tigecycline Injection drug information › The full plain-English guide to this medication Supplement interaction checker › Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z › Every drug we've checked against herbs & supplements Ask a pharmacist › Free, personal answer from our licensed team
Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Coconut Water and Tigecycline Together: Common Questions

Can you take Coconut Water with Tigecycline?
There is a moderate interaction, so it may be acceptable with monitoring or timing changes — but check with your pharmacist first. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
How serious is the Coconut Water and Tigecycline interaction?
We rate it Moderate. This combination may require monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separating the times you take each one. Consult your pharmacist before using them together.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

Still Have a Question About Tigecycline and Coconut Water?

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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.