Drug & supplement interaction

Fo-ti + Paclitaxel

Paclitaxel brand names: Taxol, Abraxane.

Moderate Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated September 2026
The bottom line Moderate

Paclitaxel falls into 2 drug categories that Fo-ti can interact with; the most serious is rated moderate. Theoretically, fo-ti might increase the levels and clinical effects of drugs metabolized by CYP3A4.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityModerate
LikelihoodPossible
Interactions2
EvidenceD
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Fo-ti and Paclitaxel

These two interact in 2 distinct ways. Each one is explained separately below.

Why Are There 2 Interactions?

Fo-ti interacts with whole categories of medication. Paclitaxel falls into 2 of those categories, so it can interact with Fo-ti in 2 different ways. We’ve listed each one below — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them (Moderate).

Moderate

CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES

1 of 2

Why this applies to Paclitaxel

Paclitaxel falls under CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES — the group Fo-ti interacts with.

Theoretically, fo-ti might increase the levels and clinical effects of drugs metabolized by CYP3A4.
In vitro research suggests that fo-ti might inhibit CYP3A4. One in vitro study suggests that the degree of CYP3A4 inhibition may depend on the type of fo-ti extract (i.e., the raw plant leads to greater inhibition than extensively processed extracts). However, this evidence conflicts with animal research suggesting that fo-ti does not inhibit CYP3A4. This interaction has not been reported in humans.
Severity Moderate 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 gist for paclitaxel (Taxol, Abraxane). Your body relies partly on an enzyme called CYP3A4 to break this chemo drug down. In lab dish studies, Fo-ti appeared to slow that enzyme. If that held true in people, paclitaxel could clear more slowly and build up, which might mean stronger side effects like low blood counts, nerve tingling or numbness in the hands and feet, fatigue, and mouth sores.

That said, this is theoretical. The signal comes only from test-tube work, and animal studies didn't agree, so it has never actually been reported in humans. Still, since chemotherapy leaves little room for error, please don't add Fo-ti without first running it by your oncology team or pharmacist.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Unger M, Frank A. Simultaneous determination of the inhibitory potency of herbal extracts on the activity of six major cytochrome P450 enzymes using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and automated online extraction. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 2004;1 PubMed
  2. Zhang Y, Ding T, Diao T, Deng M, Chen S. Effects of Polygonum multiflorum on the activity of cytochrome P450 isoforms in rats. Pharmazie 2015;70(1):47-54. DOI
  3. Xing Y, Yu Q, Zhou L, et al. Cytochrome P450-mediated herb-drug interaction (HDI) of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. based on pharmacokinetic studies and in vitro inhibition assays. Phytomedicine 2023;112:154710. PubMed
Moderate

CYTOCHROME P450 2C8 (CYP2C8) SUBSTRATES

2 of 2

Paclitaxel also falls under CYTOCHROME P450 2C8 (CYP2C8) SUBSTRATES.

Theoretically, fo-ti might increase the levels and clinical effects of drugs metabolized by CYP2C8.
In vitro research suggests that fo-ti might inhibit CYP2C8. However, this interaction has not been reported in humans.
Severity Moderate 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 gist: your body uses a liver enzyme called CYP2C8 to help clear paclitaxel. Lab studies suggest fo-ti may slow that enzyme down. If that happened in a real person, paclitaxel could linger longer and build up, which could mean stronger effects and more side effects, things like low blood counts (raising infection risk), nerve tingling or numbness in the hands and feet, fatigue, and mouth sores.

The important part: this is theoretical. It comes from test-tube research, not from people, so we don't actually know it happens in real life. Still, paclitaxel is potent chemo with little room for error, so don't add fo-ti without clearing it first. Please loop in your oncology team or pharmacist before combining the two.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Xing Y, Yu Q, Zhou L, et al. Cytochrome P450-mediated herb-drug interaction (HDI) of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. based on pharmacokinetic studies and in vitro inhibition assays. Phytomedicine 2023;112:154710. PubMed

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

Fo-ti Also Interacts With Other Medications

Fo-ti has 1,256 moderate known drug interactions in our database — the Paclitaxel one above is among them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 1,256 No known interaction 1,574 (incl. Paclitaxel)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Fo-ti

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

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Paclitaxel

This page covers Fo-ti only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Paclitaxel page lists 152 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Apple (major), Grapefruit (major), St. John's Wort (major) and Sweet Orange (major).

By severity: 5 major · 108 moderate · 39 minor.

Open the Paclitaxel interaction page

One more smart check

Taking Fo-ti as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 976 real supplement products containing Fo-ti, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Fo-ti. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Paclitaxel too, on top of Fo-ti — 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 Fo-ti and Paclitaxel 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 Fo-ti
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Paclitaxel
Top half

#976 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 Fo-ti

What is Fo-ti?

  • Anti-aging and longevity
  • Hair graying and hair loss
  • General tonic for vitality
  • Constipation
  • High cholesterol

Fo-ti (He Shou Wu) is a root used in traditional Chinese medicine, often promoted for healthy aging and hair. High-quality human evidence for these benefits is limited, and processed Fo-ti has been linked to reports of liver injury, so caution and professional guidance are important.

Read the full Fo-ti monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Paclitaxel (with albumin) Injection

What Is Paclitaxel (with albumin) Injection Used For?

Brand names: Taxol, Abraxane

Paclitaxel Protein-Bound Particles for Injectable Suspension (Albumin-Bound) is used to treat three types of cancer. It treats metastatic breast cancer in patients whose prior chemotherapy has stopped working or who relapsed within 6 months of completing adjuvant (post-surgery) chemotherapy. It is also used as a first-line treatment for locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) — given together with carboplatin — in patients who cannot have surgery or radiation therapy.

Additionally, it is approved as a first-line treatment for metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, given in combination with gemcitabine. All three uses apply specifically to Paclitaxel Protein-Bound Particles for Injectable Suspension (Albumin-Bound), including the brands Abraxane and related albumin-bound formulations.

See full Paclitaxel (with albumin) Injection drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Fo-ti

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

0Major
1,256Moderate
0Minor
1,573No known interaction
1,256 Moderate 1,573 No interaction
Moderate

1,256 interactions

Showing 60 of 1,256 moderate interactions — see all 1,256 on the Fo-ti page.

No interaction 1,573 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 1,573 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Fo-ti list.

See the full Fo-ti interactions page
See every supplement checked against Paclitaxel, 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
Fo-ti monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place Paclitaxel supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against Paclitaxel, ranked by severity Paclitaxel (with albumin) 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 Fo-ti and Paclitaxel Together: Common Questions

Can you take Fo-ti with Paclitaxel?
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.
Why are there 2 interactions listed for Fo-ti and Paclitaxel?
Paclitaxel belongs to more than one drug category, and Fo-ti interacts with each of those categories a little differently. We list every one so nothing is missed — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them.
How serious is the Fo-ti and Paclitaxel 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 Paclitaxel and Fo-ti?

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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.