Drug & supplement interaction

Gentian + diphenhydramine, calamine

diphenhydramine, calamine brand names: Caladryl cream, Caladryl lotion.

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 Gentian and diphenhydramine, calamine 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.

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Interaction report

Gentian and diphenhydramine, calamine

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 diphenhydramine, calamine and Gentian 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.

Gentian safety at a glance

Gentian overall Use caution Generally tolerated in small amounts by healthy adults, but it can upset the stomach and is not well studied at high doses.
Pregnancy Avoid Not enough safety data, and traditional cautions exist, so it is best avoided during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Avoid There is not enough reliable safety information, so avoid use while breastfeeding.

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

Still wondering about combining diphenhydramine, calamine and Gentian? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for diphenhydramine, calamine

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. diphenhydramine, calamine is filed under 2 classifications — cytochrome p450 2d6 (cyp2d6) inhibitors, topical drugs. Gentian has documented interactions with 1 drug class — the most serious being antihypertensive drugs (moderate) — and none of diphenhydramine, calamine’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

Gentian Does Interact With Other Medications

Gentian has 172 moderate known drug interactions in our database — diphenhydramine, calamine isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 172 No known interaction 2,658 (incl. diphenhydramine, calamine)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Gentian

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

What to actually watch for

What Gentian Itself Has Been Linked To

This is not an interaction — nothing below involves diphenhydramine, calamine. It is the side-effect record for Gentian on its own, from the licensed Natural Medicines monograph. If something new turns up after you add Gentian, this list is the first place to look.

  • Bloating or gas / Reduced appetite / Diarrhea / Vomiting / Nausea Additional detail

    “Orally, gentian root, in combination with other herbs, has been reported to cause gastrointestinal adverse effects. Gastrointestinal intolerance occurred in patients with cancer-associated anorexia who took gentian tincture 1 mL three times daily, in conjunction with turmeric 1 gram and ginger 1 gram twice daily, for 14 days.”

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

    3 sources cited
    1. 374. Neubauer N, Marz RW. Placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, clincal trial with Sinupret sugar coated tablets on the basis of a therapy with antibiotics and decongestant nasal drops in acute sinusitis. Phytomedicine 1994;1:177-81.
    2. 379. Marz RW, Ismail C, Popp MA. Action profile and efficacy of a herbal combination preparation for the treatment of sinusitis. Wien Med Wochenschr 1999;149:202-8.
    3. 96263. Sanatani M, Younus J, Stitt L, et al. Tolerability of the combination of ginger (Zingiber officinalis), gentian (Gentiana lutea) and turmeric (Curcuma longa) in patients with cancer-associated anorexia. J Complement Integr Med. 2015;12(1):57-60.

Everything above comes from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record for Gentian — expand a row for the licensed statement it rests on. We haven’t matched diphenhydramine, calamine to its FDA label in our system yet, so we can’t compare its own side-effect list here — the leaflet that comes with your prescription is the authoritative list for diphenhydramine, calamine.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With diphenhydramine, calamine

This page covers Gentian only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the diphenhydramine, calamine page lists 6 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Dimethylsulfoxide (dmso) (moderate), Fever Bark (moderate), Iboga (moderate), Turpentine Oil (moderate) and Yohimbe (moderate).

By severity: 5 moderate · 1 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the diphenhydramine, calamine page

“Yohimbe is the entry I would read first. Diphenhydramine, the itch-relieving antihistamine in Caladryl cream and lotion, blocks a liver enzyme called CYP2D6, and yohimbine, the active compound in yohimbe bark, needs that enzyme to leave the body, so its levels and side effects can climb.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the diphenhydramine, calamine interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 749 real supplement products containing Gentian, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Gentian. Even though Gentian itself has no known interaction with diphenhydramine, calamine, 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 Gentian and diphenhydramine, calamine 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 Gentian
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication diphenhydramine, calamine
Top 25%

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

What is Gentian?

  • Loss of appetite
  • Indigestion and bloating
  • Digestive bitter tonic
  • Stomach upset
  • Sluggish digestion

Gentian is a very bitter root traditionally used to stimulate appetite and ease mild digestive complaints, often as part of "bitters" before meals. The evidence is mostly traditional and preliminary, and while short-term use of normal amounts appears generally well tolerated in healthy adults, anyone with ulcers, reflux, or who is pregnant should be cautious and check with a pharmacist or doctor first.

Gentiana lutea · Gentianaceae · Root and rhizome · Tinctures, liquid extracts, teas, bitters, capsules, dried root

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

Gentian: dosing

There is no official, standardized dose for gentian, and products vary widely in strength. Traditional use involves small amounts of a tincture, extract, or tea taken shortly before meals.Because formulations differ, the safest approach is to follow the directions on the product label and not exceed the suggested amount. A pharmacist can help you choose a reasonable product and dose, and can review it against your other medicines and health conditions.

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

Read the full Gentian monograph & all interactions
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Gentian

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

0Major
172Moderate
0Minor
2,657No known interaction
172 Moderate 2,657 No interaction
Moderate

172 interactions

Showing 60 of 172 moderate interactions — see all 172 on the Gentian page.

No interaction 2,657 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,657 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Gentian list.

See the full Gentian interactions page
See every supplement checked against diphenhydramine, calamine, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Gentian References

The 5 references that drive our Gentian 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. Neubauer N, Marz RW. Placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, clincal trial with Sinupret sugar coated tablets on the basis of a therapy with antibiotics and decongestant nasal drops in acute sinusitis. Phytomedicine 1994;1:177-81.
  2. Marz RW, Ismail C, Popp MA. Action profile and efficacy of a herbal combination preparation for the treatment of sinusitis. Wien Med Wochenschr 1999;149:202-8.
  3. Uncini Manganelli RE, Chericoni S, Baragatti B. Ethnopharmacobotany in Tuscany: plants used as antihypertensives. Fitoterapia 2000;71:S95-100. PubMed
  4. Baragatti B, Calderone V, Testai L, et al. Vasodilator activity of crude methanolic extract of Gentiana kokiana Perr. et Song. (Gentianaceae). J Ethnopharmacol 2002;79:369-72. PubMed
  5. Sanatani M, Younus J, Stitt L, et al. Tolerability of the combination of ginger (Zingiber officinalis), gentian (Gentiana lutea) and turmeric (Curcuma longa) in patients with cancer-associated anorexia. J Complement Integr Med. 2015;12(1):57-60.

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 Gentian and diphenhydramine, calamine Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Gentian with diphenhydramine, calamine?
We do not list a known interaction between Gentian and diphenhydramine, calamine. 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.
How was the Gentian and diphenhydramine, calamine combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. diphenhydramine, calamine is filed under 2 classifications, and Gentian has documented interactions with 1 drug class — none of diphenhydramine, calamine'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 Gentian interact with any other medications?
Yes. Gentian has 172 documented drug interactions in our database — diphenhydramine, calamine 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 diphenhydramine, calamine interact with any supplements?
Yes. diphenhydramine, calamine has documented interactions with 6 supplements in our database — Gentian is not one of them. The diphenhydramine, calamine 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

Gentian monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place diphenhydramine, calamine supplement interactions Every supplement checked against diphenhydramine, calamine, 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 5 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About diphenhydramine, calamine and Gentian?

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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.