Drug & supplement interaction

Echinacea + Pregabalin

Pregabalin brand names: Lyrica, Lyrica CR.

No Known Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 13, 2026
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Echinacea and Pregabalin 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 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

Echinacea and Pregabalin

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 Pregabalin and Echinacea 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.

Echinacea safety at a glance

Echinacea overall Use caution Generally well tolerated short-term, but it may cause allergic reactions, especially in people sensitive to ragweed and related plants.
Pregnancy Possibly Safe When used orally, short-term. There is preliminary evidence that mothers can safely use echinacea in the form of E. purpurea or E. angustifolia solid dosage for... Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Use caution There is not enough reliable safety information, so caution or avoidance is advised.

Pregnancy & breastfeeding ratings are from Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center) — the full detail is in the Special populations card below. Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Still wondering about combining Pregabalin and Echinacea? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Pregabalin

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Pregabalin is filed under 3 classifications — including cns depressants, oral drugs. Echinacea has documented interactions with 12 drug classes — the most serious being caffeine (moderate), cytochrome p450 1a2 (cyp1a2) substrates (moderate) and cytochrome p450 3a4 (cyp3a4) substrates (moderate) — and none of Pregabalin’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

Echinacea Does Interact With Other Medications

Echinacea has 815 moderate, 1 minor known drug interactions in our database — Pregabalin isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 815 Minor 1 No known interaction 2,014 (incl. Pregabalin)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Echinacea

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Echinacea and Pregabalin 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. 8 of them are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Muscle weakness / Shortness of breath / A severe allergic reaction Worth acting on Additional detail

    Echinacea

    “Allergic reactions, including urticaria, runny nose, dyspnea, bronchospasm, acute asthma, angioedema, and anaphylaxis, have been reported with various echinacea preparations. Atopic individuals and those sensitive to other members of the Asteraceae family (ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds, daisies) seem to be at higher risk for these reactions.

    A case report describes a 36-year-old female who presented with muscle…”

    Echinacea · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in asthma.

    6 sources cited
    1. 638. Mullins RJ. Echinacea-associated anaphylaxis. Med J Aust 1998;168:170-1. PubMed
    2. 1358. Mullins RJ. Allergic reactions to Echinacea. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2000;104:S340-341 (Abstract 1003).
    3. 8225. Mullins RJ, Heddle R. Adverse reactions associated with echinacea: the Australian experience. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2002;88:42-51. PubMed
    4. 10319. Logan JL, Ahmed J. Critical hypokalemic renal tubular acidosis due to Sjogren's syndrome: association with the purported immune stimulant echinacea. Clin Rheumatol 2003;22:158-9.
    5. 12171. Lee AN, Werth VP. Activation of autoimmunity following use of immunostimulatory herbal supplements. Arch Dermatol 2004;140:723-7. PubMed
    6. 48623. Maskatia, Z. K. and Baker, K. Hypereosinophilia associated with echinacea use. South.Med J 2010;103(11):1173-1174. PubMed

    Pregabalin

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

  • Hives Worth acting on Additional detail

    Echinacea

    “Itching, urticaria, tingling, and allergic rashes have been reported with various echinacea preparations. In a study of children aged 2-11 years, rash occurred in about 7% of children treated with an extract of the above-ground parts of E. purpurea (EC31J2, Echinacin Saft, Madaus AG), compared with about 3% of those treated with placebo. There is concern that allergic reactions could be severe in some children.”

    Echinacea · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in pruritus.

    6 sources cited
    1. 8225. Mullins RJ, Heddle R. Adverse reactions associated with echinacea: the Australian experience. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2002;88:42-51. PubMed
    2. 12355. Goel V, Lovlin R, Barton R, et al. Efficacy of a standardized echinacea preparation (Echinilin) for the treatment of the common cold: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J Clin Pharm Ther 2004;29:75-83.
    3. 17519. Barrett B, Brown R, Rakel D. et al. Echinacea for treating the common cold: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med 2010;153:769-77. PubMed
    4. 20059. Barrett B, Brown R, Rakel D, Rabago D, et al. Placebo effects and the common cold: a randomized controlled trial. Ann.Fam.Med 2011;9:312-22. PubMed
    5. 20077. Schapowal A, Berger D, Klein P, et al. Echinacea/sage or chlorhexidine/lidocaine for treating acute sore throats: a randomized double-blind trial. Eur.J Med Res 9-1-2009;14:406-12. PubMed
    6. 101592. Hoban CL, Byard RW, Musgrave IF. Analysis of spontaneous adverse drug reactions to echinacea, valerian, black cohosh and ginkgo in Australia from 2000 to 2015. J Integr Med. 2019;17(5):338-343. PubMed

    Pregabalin

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

  • A low white blood cell count / Bleeding or bruising Worth acting on Additional detail

    Echinacea

    “A 51-year-old female presented with leukopenia after taking echinacea 450 mg three times daily for 2 months, along with ginkgo biloba, multivitamins, and calcium. Her leukocyte count recovered upon stopping these supplements, but dropped again when she restarted echinacea alone about a year later. The problem resolved when echinacea was stopped permanently.”

    Echinacea · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in common cold.

    2 sources cited
    1. 48533. Kemp, D. E. and Franco, K. N. Possible leukopenia associated with long-term use of echinacea. J Am Board Fam.Pract. 2002;15(5):417-419.
    2. 48572. Liatsos, G., Elefsiniotis, I., Todorova, R., and Moulakakis, A. Severe thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) induced or exacerbated by the immunostimulatory herb Echinacea. Am J Hematol. 2006;81(3):224.

    Pregabalin

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

  • Liver problems Worth acting on Additional detail

    Echinacea

    “Although uncommon, cases of echinacea-induced hepatitis have been reported. One case report describes acute cholestatic autoimmune hepatitis in a 45-year-old male who had been taking an echinacea root extract 1500 mg daily for about 2 weeks.”

    Echinacea · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in anorexia.

    4 sources cited
    1. 17518. Kocaman O, Hulagu S, Senturk O. Echinacea-induced severe acute hepatitis with features of cholestatic autoimmune hepatitis. Eur J Intern Med 2008;19:148. PubMed
    2. 91528. Gabranis I, Koufakis T1, Papakrivos I, Batala S. Echinacea-associated acute cholestatic hepatitis. J Postgrad Med. 2015;61(3):211-2. PubMed
    3. 8225. Mullins RJ, Heddle R. Adverse reactions associated with echinacea: the Australian experience. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2002;88:42-51. PubMed
    4. 88166. Lawrenson JA, Walls T, Day AS. Echinacea-induced acute liver failure in a child. J Paediatr Child Health 2014;50(10):841.

    Pregabalin

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

  • An allergic reaction Worth acting on Additional detail

    Echinacea

    Recorded for Echinacea in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Liver problems above.

    Pregabalin

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

  • Dry mouth Additional detail

    Echinacea

    “Gastrointestinal adverse effects include nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, stomach upset, heartburn, diarrhea, and constipation. An unpleasant taste, dry mouth, and burning, tingling or numbness of the tongue also occur.”

    Echinacea · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in constipation.

    6 sources cited
    1. 10802. Schulten B, Bulitta M, Ballering-Bruhl B, et al. Efficacy of Echinacea purpurea in patients with a common cold. A placebo-controlled, randomised, double-blind clinical trial. Arzneimittelforschung 2001;51:563-8.. PubMed
    2. 11970. Yale SH, Liu K. Echinacea purpurea therapy for the treatment of the common cold: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Arch Intern Med 2004;164:1237-41. PubMed
    3. 12355. Goel V, Lovlin R, Barton R, et al. Efficacy of a standardized echinacea preparation (Echinilin) for the treatment of the common cold: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J Clin Pharm Ther 2004;29:75-83.
    4. 13419. Turner RB, Bauer R, Woelkart K, et al. An evaluation of Echinacea angustifolia in experimental rhinovirus infections. N Engl J Med 2005;353:341-8.
    5. 17519. Barrett B, Brown R, Rakel D. et al. Echinacea for treating the common cold: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med 2010;153:769-77. PubMed
    6. 20059. Barrett B, Brown R, Rakel D, Rabago D, et al. Placebo effects and the common cold: a randomized controlled trial. Ann.Fam.Med 2011;9:312-22. PubMed

    Pregabalin

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

  • Numbness or tingling Additional detail

    Echinacea

    Recorded for Echinacea in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Dry mouth above.

    Pregabalin

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

Showing the 10 most notable of 25 shared effects — ranked by how unusual each one is, not just whether both lists mention it.

Reported for Echinacea but not commonly for Pregabalin: wheezing, a stuffy or runny nose, heartburn and reduced appetite.

Effects for Pregabalin come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Echinacea come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Wording is matched across sources by our own clinical vocabulary, so treat this as a prompt to pay attention, not a diagnosis.

Special populations

Echinacea in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy Possibly Safe

When used orally, short-term. There is preliminary evidence that mothers can safely use echinacea in the form of E. purpurea or E. angustifolia solid dosage forms, 250-1000 mg daily, or tinctures, up to 30 drops daily, for 5 days to 7 days during the first trimester without adversely affecting the fetus. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of echinacea when used for longer than 7 days.

DISCLAIMER: This tool is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be interpreted as specific medical advice. Patients should consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about therapies and/or health conditions.© 2026 Therapeutic Research Center

From our Q&A

Questions About Echinacea or Pregabalin

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

This page covers Echinacea only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Pregabalin page lists 95 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: 1,4-butanediol (major), Activated Charcoal (major), Beer (major), Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (ghb) (major) and Kava (major).

By severity: 7 major · 73 moderate · 15 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Pregabalin page

“Pregabalin (Lyrica) calms overactive nerves, which is how it eases nerve pain, seizures, and anxiety, and that calming action stacks with almost everything on this list. Of the 95 supplements and herbs, the large majority add their own sedation on top of pregabalin's, and a few can tip that into genuine danger, with deep sedation and s…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Pregabalin interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 350 real supplement products containing Echinacea, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Echinacea. Even though Echinacea itself has no known interaction with Pregabalin, 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 Echinacea and Pregabalin 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 Echinacea
Top 5%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Pregabalin
Top 5%

#39 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 Echinacea reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Echinacea and Pregabalin records this page draws on were last updated July 11, 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 Echinacea

What is Echinacea?

Echinacea
  • Common cold
  • Flu and respiratory infections
  • Immune support
  • Sore throat
  • Wound and skin care (traditional)

Echinacea is a popular herb taken to help prevent or shorten the common cold, but study results are mixed and the overall benefit appears small at best. It is generally well tolerated for short-term use in most healthy adults, though people with allergies to daisy-family plants and those who are pregnant or breastfeeding should be cautious and talk to a pharmacist or doctor first.

Echinacea purpurea · Asteraceae · Roots, leaves, flowers, and whole aerial parts · Capsules, tablets, tinctures, liquid extracts, teas, and lozenges

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

Echinacea: dosing

There is no single official or standardized dose for echinacea. The right amount depends on the species, the plant part, and the type of product, and these vary widely between brands.The best approach is to follow the directions on the product label and not to exceed them. Many people use echinacea only for short periods, such as at the start of a cold.

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

Read the full Echinacea monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Pregabalin

What Is Pregabalin Used For?

Brand names: Lyrica, Lyrica CR

Pregabalin is used to manage several types of nerve pain, including neuropathic pain from diabetic peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage caused by diabetes) and postherpetic neuralgia (lingering nerve pain after shingles). It is also used to treat fibromyalgia and neuropathic pain associated with spinal cord injury.

Lyrica (capsule and oral solution), pregabalin capsules, and pregabalin oral solution are also approved as add-on therapy for partial-onset seizures — Lyrica for patients 1 month and older, and pregabalin capsules for patients 17 years and older. Lyrica CR and pregabalin extended-release tablets are approved only for diabetic peripheral neuropathy pain and postherpetic neuralgia — their effectiveness for fibromyalgia or as seizure add-on therapy has not been established.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Pregabalin

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (270,557 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Fatigue 15,629 reports
Dizziness 14,844 reports
Nausea 14,507 reports
Headache 13,067 reports
Malaise 12,884 reports
See full Pregabalin drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Echinacea

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

0Major
815Moderate
1Minor
2,013No known interaction
815 Moderate 1 Minor 2,013 No interaction
Moderate

815 interactions

Showing 60 of 815 moderate interactions — see all 815 on the Echinacea page.

Minor

1 interaction

No interaction 2,013 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,013 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Echinacea list.

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

Echinacea References

The 51 references that drive our Echinacea 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. Mullins RJ. Echinacea-associated anaphylaxis. Med J Aust 1998;168:170-1. PubMed
  2. Mullins RJ. Allergic reactions to Echinacea. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2000;104:S340-341 (Abstract 1003).
  3. Chavez ML, Chavez PI. Echinacea. Hosp Pharm 1998;33:180-8.
  4. Grimm W, Muller HH. A randomized controlled trial of the effect of fluid extract of Echinacea purpurea on the incidence and severity of colds and respiratory infections. Am J Med 1999;106:138-43. PubMed
  5. Taylor JA, Weber W, Standish L, et al. Efficacy and safety of echinacea in treating upper respiratory tract infections in children: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2003;290:2824-30.. PubMed
  6. Luettig B, Steinmuller C, Gifford GE, et al. Macrophage activation by the polysaccharide arabinogalactan isolated from plant cell cultures of Echinacea purpurea. J Natl Cancer Inst 1989;81:669-75. PubMed
  7. Stimpel M, Proksch A, Wagner H, et al. Macrophage activation and induction of macrophage cytotoxicity by purified polysaccharide fractions from the plant Echinacea purpurea. Infect Immun 1984;46:845-9. PubMed
  8. Budzinski JW, Foster BC, Vandenhoek S, Arnason JT. An in vitro evaluation of human cytochrome P450 3A4 inhibition by selected commercial herbal extracts and tinctures. Phytomedicine 2000;7:273-82. PubMed
  9. Gallo M, Sarkar M, Au W, et al. Pregnancy outcome following gestational exposure to echinacea: A prospective controlled study. Arch Intern Med 2000;160:3141-3. PubMed
  10. Soon SL, Crawford RI. Recurrent erythema nodosum associated with echinacea herbal therapy. J Am Acad Dermatol 2001;44:298-9. PubMed
  11. Mullins RJ, Heddle R. Adverse reactions associated with echinacea: the Australian experience. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2002;88:42-51. PubMed
  12. Logan JL, Ahmed J. Critical hypokalemic renal tubular acidosis due to Sjogren's syndrome: association with the purported immune stimulant echinacea. Clin Rheumatol 2003;22:158-9.
  13. Schulten B, Bulitta M, Ballering-Bruhl B, et al. Efficacy of Echinacea purpurea in patients with a common cold. A placebo-controlled, randomised, double-blind clinical trial. Arzneimittelforschung 2001;51:563-8.. PubMed
  14. Yale SH, Glurich I. Analysis of the inhibitory potential of Ginkgo biloba, Echinacea purpurea, and Serenoa repens on the metabolic activity of cytochrome P450 3A4, 2D6, and 2C9. J Altern Complement Med 2005;11:433-9.
  15. Yale SH, Liu K. Echinacea purpurea therapy for the treatment of the common cold: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Arch Intern Med 2004;164:1237-41. 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 Echinacea and Pregabalin Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Echinacea with Pregabalin?
We do not list a known interaction between Echinacea and Pregabalin. 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 Echinacea and Pregabalin have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 10 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.
How was the Echinacea and Pregabalin combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Pregabalin is filed under 3 classifications, and Echinacea has documented interactions with 12 drug classes — none of Pregabalin'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 Echinacea interact with any other medications?
Yes. Echinacea has 816 documented drug interactions in our database — Pregabalin 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 Pregabalin interact with any supplements?
Yes. Pregabalin has documented interactions with 95 supplements in our database — Echinacea is not one of them. The Pregabalin 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

Echinacea monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Pregabalin drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Pregabalin supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Pregabalin, 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 51 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Pregabalin and Echinacea?

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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.