Drug & supplement interaction

Eleuthero + Sulfasalazine

Sulfasalazine brand names: SAS, Azulfidine EN-Tabs, Azulfidine.

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 Eleuthero and Sulfasalazine 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

Eleuthero and Sulfasalazine

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 Sulfasalazine and Eleuthero 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.

Eleuthero safety at a glance

Eleuthero overall Use caution Often well tolerated for short-term use, but evidence on long-term safety is limited.
Pregnancy Avoid Not enough safety data, so it is best avoided during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Avoid Not enough safety data, so it is best avoided while breastfeeding.

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

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

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Sulfasalazine

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Sulfasalazine is filed under 3 classifications — including photosensitizing drugs, oral drugs. Eleuthero has documented interactions with 10 drug classes — the most serious being anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs (moderate), antidiabetes drugs (moderate) and cytochrome p450 1a2 (cyp1a2) substrates (moderate) — and none of Sulfasalazine’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

Eleuthero Does Interact With Other Medications

Eleuthero has 679 moderate, 461 minor known drug interactions in our database — Sulfasalazine isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 679 Minor 461 No known interaction 1,690 (incl. Sulfasalazine)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Eleuthero

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Eleuthero and Sulfasalazine 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. 2 of them are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Hives Worth acting on Additional detail

    Eleuthero

    “Orally, eleuthero root is generally well tolerated when used short-term.

    Most Common Adverse Effects:

    Orally: Diarrhea, dyspepsia, gastrointestinal upset, headache, nausea, and urticaria.”

    Eleuthero · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in cluster headache.

    Sulfasalazine

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

  • Bleeding or bruising Worth acting on Additional detail

    Eleuthero

    “Orally, mastalgia and uterine bleeding were reported in 7.3% of females taking eleuthero 2 grams daily in one clinical study. These adverse effects seem to be more likely with higher doses.”

    Eleuthero · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in mastalgia.

    2 sources cited
    1. 6500. Mills S, Bone K. Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy. London: Churchill Livingstone, 2000.
    2. 11099. Hartz AJ, Bentler S, Noyes R et al. Randomized controlled trial of Siberian ginseng for chronic fatigue. Psychol Med 2004;34:51-61. PubMed

    “Orally, headaches have been reported in 9.8% of people taking eleuthero in one clinical study.

    In one case report, a 53-year-old female developed spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage associated with the use of an herbal supplement containing red clover, dong quai, and eleuthero. It is unclear if this event was related to the use of eleuthero, the other ingredients, the combination, or another cause entirely.”

    Eleuthero · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in subarachnoid hemorrhage.

    2 sources cited
    1. 11099. Hartz AJ, Bentler S, Noyes R et al. Randomized controlled trial of Siberian ginseng for chronic fatigue. Psychol Med 2004;34:51-61. PubMed
    2. 70419. Friedman, J. A., Taylor, S. A., McDermott, W., and Alikhani, P. Multifocal and recurrent subarachnoid hemorrhage due to an herbal supplement containing natural coumarins. Neurocrit.Care 2007;7(1):76-80. PubMed

    Sulfasalazine

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

  • Stomach upset / Diarrhea / Nausea Additional detail

    Eleuthero

    “Orally, eleuthero has been reported to cause dyspepsia, nausea, diarrhea, and gastrointestinal upset in some patients.”

    Eleuthero · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in diarrhea.

    Sulfasalazine

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

  • Headache Additional detail

    Eleuthero

    Recorded for Eleuthero in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Hives above.

    Sulfasalazine

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

Reported for Eleuthero but not commonly for Sulfasalazine: raised blood pressure, mood changes or irritability, anxiety or restlessness and a fast or pounding heartbeat.

Effects for Sulfasalazine come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Eleuthero come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 76,994 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Sulfasalazine 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.

From our Q&A

Questions About Eleuthero or Sulfasalazine

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

This page covers Eleuthero only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Sulfasalazine page lists 39 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Alfalfa (moderate), Angelica Archangelica (moderate), Arrach (moderate) and Bergamot (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 28 moderate · 10 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Sulfasalazine page

“Activated charcoal is the single major-rated risk for sulfasalazine (Azulfidine), because charcoal can bind the drug in the gut and cut how much your body absorbs, weakening a medicine people rely on for rheumatoid arthritis or ulcerative colitis. That entry alone earns this list of 39 supplements and herbs a careful read.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Sulfasalazine interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 3,795 real supplement products containing Eleuthero, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Eleuthero. Even though Eleuthero itself has no known interaction with Sulfasalazine, 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 Eleuthero and Sulfasalazine 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 Eleuthero
Top 5%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Sulfasalazine
Top 25%

#602 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 Eleuthero reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Eleuthero and Sulfasalazine 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 Eleuthero

What is Eleuthero?

Eleuthero
  • Fatigue and low energy
  • Physical and athletic performance
  • Stress resistance (adaptogen)
  • Immune support
  • Mental focus and alertness

Eleuthero is an herb traditionally used as an 'adaptogen' to fight fatigue, boost energy, and help the body handle stress. The scientific evidence behind these uses is limited and mixed, so it should not replace proven treatments. It is generally well tolerated short-term, but pregnant and breastfeeding people and those with certain conditions should avoid it or check with a healthcare provider first.

Eleutherococcus senticosus · Araliaceae · Root and rhizome (sometimes the stem bark) · Capsules, tablets, dried root powder, liquid extracts (tinctures), and teas

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

Eleuthero: dosing

There is no official standardized dose for eleuthero, and products differ widely in strength and form (dried root, extracts, tinctures, and teas).The best approach is to follow the directions on the product label and not exceed the recommended amount.

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

Read the full Eleuthero monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Sulfasalazine

What Is Sulfasalazine Used For?

Brand names: SAS, Azulfidine EN-Tabs, Azulfidine

Sulfasalazine tablets (Azulfidine and generic) treat mild to moderate ulcerative colitis and are used as an add-on therapy in severe ulcerative colitis. They also help keep ulcerative colitis in remission — reducing the frequency of flare-ups.

The delayed-release tablets (Azulfidine EN-tabs and generic delayed-release) have the additional approvals of treating rheumatoid arthritis in adults who haven't responded well enough to NSAIDs or salicylates, and polyarticular-course juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in children who also haven't responded adequately to those drugs.

See full Sulfasalazine drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Eleuthero

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

0Major
679Moderate
461Minor
1,689No known interaction
679 Moderate 461 Minor 1,689 No interaction
Moderate

679 interactions

Showing 60 of 679 moderate interactions — see all 679 on the Eleuthero page.

Minor

461 interactions

Showing 60 of 461 minor interactions — see all 461 on the Eleuthero page.

No interaction 1,689 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 1,689 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Eleuthero list.

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

Eleuthero References

The 24 references that drive our Eleuthero 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. McGuffin M, Hobbs C, Upton R, Goldberg A, eds. American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, LLC 1997.
  2. McRae S. Elevated serum digoxin levels in a patient taking digoxin and Siberian ginseng. CMAJ 1996;155:293-5.
  3. Awang DVC. Siberian ginseng toxicity may be case of mistaken identity (letter). CMAJ 1996;155:1237.
  4. Mills S, Bone K. Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy. London: Churchill Livingstone, 2000.
  5. Harkey MR, Henderson GL, Zhou L, et al. Effects of Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus) on c-DNA-expressed P450 drug metabolizing enzymes. Alt Ther 2001;7:S14.
  6. Hikino H, Takahashi M, Otake K, Konno C. Isolation and hypoglycemic activity of eleutherans A, B, C, D, E, F, and G: glycans of Eleutherococcus senticosus roots. J Nat Prod 1986;49:293-7. PubMed
  7. Yun-Choi HS, Kim JH, Lee JR. Potential inhibitors of platelet aggregation from plant sources, III. J Nat Prod 1987;50:1059-64. PubMed
  8. Donovan JL, DeVane CL, Chavin KD, et al. Siberian Ginseng (Eleutheroccus senticosus) Effects on CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 Activity in Normal Volunteers. Drug Metab Dispos 2003;31:519-22.. PubMed
  9. Hartz AJ, Bentler S, Noyes R et al. Randomized controlled trial of Siberian ginseng for chronic fatigue. Psychol Med 2004;34:51-61. PubMed
  10. Sievenpiper JL, Arnason JT, Leiter LA, Vuksan V. Decreasing, null and increasing effects of eight popular types of ginseng on acute postprandial glycemic indices in healthy humans: the role of ginsenosides. J Am Coll Nutr 2004;23:248-58. PubMed
  11. Dasgupta A, Wu S, Actor J, et al. Effect of Asian and Siberian ginseng on serum digoxin measurement by five digoxin immunoassays. Significant variation in digoxin-like immunoreactivity among commercial ginsengs. Am J Clin Pathol 2003;119:298-303. DOI
  12. Takahashi T, Kaku T, Sato T, et al. Effects of Acanthopanax senticosus HARMS extract on drug transport in human intestinal cell line Caco-2. J Nat Med. 2010;64(1):55-62. PubMed
  13. Fuchikami H, Satoh H, Tsujimoto M, Ohdo S, Ohtani H, Sawada Y. Effects of herbal extracts on the function of human organic anion-transporting polypeptide OATP-B. Drug Metab Dispos 2006;34:577-82. PubMed
  14. Friedman, J. A., Taylor, S. A., McDermott, W., and Alikhani, P. Multifocal and recurrent subarachnoid hemorrhage due to an herbal supplement containing natural coumarins. Neurocrit.Care 2007;7(1):76-80. PubMed
  15. Molokovskii, D. S., Davydov, V. V., and Tiulenev, V. V. [The action of adaptogenic plant preparations in experimental alloxan diabetes]. Probl.Endokrinol.(Mosk) 1989;35(6):82-87.

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 Eleuthero and Sulfasalazine Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Eleuthero with Sulfasalazine?
We do not list a known interaction between Eleuthero and Sulfasalazine. 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 Eleuthero and Sulfasalazine have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 6 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 Eleuthero and Sulfasalazine combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Sulfasalazine is filed under 3 classifications, and Eleuthero has documented interactions with 10 drug classes — none of Sulfasalazine'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 Eleuthero interact with any other medications?
Yes. Eleuthero has 1,140 documented drug interactions in our database — Sulfasalazine 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 Sulfasalazine interact with any supplements?
Yes. Sulfasalazine has documented interactions with 39 supplements in our database — Eleuthero is not one of them. The Sulfasalazine 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

Eleuthero monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Sulfasalazine drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Sulfasalazine supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Sulfasalazine, 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 24 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Sulfasalazine and Eleuthero?

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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.