Drug & supplement interaction

Dendrobium + Hydrochlorothiazide

Hydrochlorothiazide brand names: Esidrix, Hydro, Microzide, HydroDiuril, Hydro-D, and others.

Minor Interaction
The bottom line Minor

Dendrobium has a minor interaction with Hydrochlorothiazide. The dendrobium constituent dendrobine is reported to have hypotensive effects.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityMinor
LikelihoodPossible
EvidenceD
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Dendrobium and Hydrochlorothiazide

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

Minor

ANTIHYPERTENSIVE DRUGS

Why this applies to Hydrochlorothiazide

Hydrochlorothiazide falls under ANTIHYPERTENSIVE DRUGS — the group Dendrobium interacts with.

The dendrobium constituent dendrobine is reported to have hypotensive effects. Theoretically, combining dendrobium with antihypertensive drugs might increase the risk of hypotension; use with caution.
Severity Minor Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Interaction 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.

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

Here's the simple version: hydrochlorothiazide is a water pill that lowers your blood pressure by helping your body shed extra salt and water. Dendrobium contains a compound called dendrobine that researchers think may gently lower blood pressure too. So when you stack the two together, the worry is that your pressure could drop a little more than expected.

I want to be honest about the strength of this concern. It's theoretical, based on how dendrobine behaves in lab and animal studies, not on real cases in people. Still, if you notice dizziness, lightheadedness when standing up, or feeling unusually tired, those can be signs your pressure ran low. Good news: hydrochlorothiazide is not a prodrug, so this isn't about your medicine changing strength, just two blood-pressure-lowering things adding up. Check with your pharmacist or doctor before combining them.

References
  1. Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. Available at: http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/.

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

Dendrobium Also Interacts With Other Medications

Dendrobium has 461 moderate, 147 minor known drug interactions in our database — the Hydrochlorothiazide one above is one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Dendrobium

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Dendrobium or Hydrochlorothiazide

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

This page covers Dendrobium only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Hydrochlorothiazide page lists 230 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), American Hellebore (major), American Mistletoe (major), Asarabacca (major) and Dolomite (major).

By severity: 10 major · 195 moderate · 25 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Hydrochlorothiazide page

“Hydrochlorothiazide sits at the strong end of the caution scale for supplement interactions, and the small group of major-rated entries deserves a careful read before everything else on the page. Most of what appears here either adds to the pill's blood-pressure-lowering effect or piles onto its diuretic action, pushing fluid and potas…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Hydrochlorothiazide interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 117 real supplement products containing Dendrobium, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Dendrobium. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Hydrochlorothiazide too, on top of Dendrobium — 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 Dendrobium and Hydrochlorothiazide 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 Dendrobium
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Hydrochlorothiazide
Top 5%

#136 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 Dendrobium

What is Dendrobium?

  • Dry mouth and thirst
  • Supporting digestion
  • General tonic/vitality
  • Eye and skin health
  • Recovery after illness

Dendrobium is a group of orchids long used in traditional Chinese medicine, often to moisten the body and as a general tonic. Human evidence for its modern health claims is very limited, so it should be viewed as a traditional remedy rather than a proven treatment. Talk to your pharmacist or doctor before using it, and avoid it during pregnancy and breastfeeding because safety isn't known.

Read the full Dendrobium monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Hydrochlorothiazide

What Is Hydrochlorothiazide Used For?

Brand names: Esidrix, Hydro, Microzide, HydroDiuril, Hydro-D, Oretic, Aquazide H, Aquazide, HCTZ

Hydrochlorothiazide treats high blood pressure (hypertension) in adults and children, either alone or combined with other blood pressure medicines. Lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of strokes and heart attacks.

It also treats edema (fluid buildup) linked to congestive heart failure, hepatic cirrhosis (liver scarring), and kidney conditions including nephrotic syndrome. Hydrochlorothiazide tablets are additionally indicated for edema caused by corticosteroid or estrogen therapy, and edema from acute glomerulonephritis or chronic renal failure. Inzirqo (the oral suspension) is specifically approved for both hypertension and edema in adult and pediatric patients.

See full Hydrochlorothiazide drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Dendrobium

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

0Major
461Moderate
147Minor
2,221No known interaction
Moderate

461 interactions

Showing 60 of 461 moderate interactions — see all 461 on the Dendrobium page.

Minor

147 interactions

Showing 60 of 147 minor interactions — see all 147 on the Dendrobium page.

No interaction 2,221 drugs checked — show the list
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

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Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Dendrobium and Hydrochlorothiazide Together: Common Questions

Can you take Dendrobium with Hydrochlorothiazide?
There is only a minor interaction, which is usually not serious. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
How serious is the Dendrobium and Hydrochlorothiazide interaction?
We rate it Minor. This interaction is generally not clinically significant, but it remains worth noting and discussing with your pharmacist.

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

Still Have a Question About Hydrochlorothiazide and Dendrobium?

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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.