Drug & supplement interaction

Goldenseal + Loteprednol

Loteprednol brand names: Lotemax, Alrex.

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 Goldenseal and Loteprednol 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

Goldenseal and Loteprednol

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 Loteprednol and Goldenseal 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.

Goldenseal safety at a glance

Goldenseal overall Use caution Generally used short-term by healthy adults, but human safety data are limited.
Pregnancy Likely Unsafe When used orally. Berberine is thought to cross the placenta and may cause harm to the fetus. Kernicterus has developed in newborn infants exposed to goldenseal... Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Avoid Avoid while breastfeeding because berberine may pass to the infant and cause harm.

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 Loteprednol and Goldenseal? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
Keep it in perspective

Goldenseal Does Interact With Other Medications

Goldenseal has 1,236 moderate, 1 minor known drug interactions in our database — Loteprednol isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 1,236 Minor 1 No known interaction 1,593 (incl. Loteprednol)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Goldenseal

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Goldenseal and Loteprednol May Share a Side Effect

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.

  • Headache Additional detail

    Goldenseal

    “Orally, berberine, a constituent of goldenseal, may cause headache when taken in a dose of 5 mg/kg daily. Theoretically, this may occur with goldenseal, but this hasn't been reported in clinical research or case reports.”

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

    1 source cited
    1. 33648. Choudhry, V. P., Sabir, M., and Bhide, V. N. Berberine in giardiasis. Indian Pediatr. 1972;9(3):143-146.

    Loteprednol

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

Reported for Goldenseal but not commonly for Loteprednol: bloating or gas, stomach pain, constipation and a change in taste.

Effects for Loteprednol come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Goldenseal 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

Goldenseal in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy Likely Unsafe

When used orally. Berberine is thought to cross the placenta and may cause harm to the fetus. Kernicterus has developed in newborn infants exposed to goldenseal.

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

Overlapping uses

What Loteprednol Is Prescribed For, and What Goldenseal Has Been Studied For

These two come up together because they touch the same health topic — not because they do the same job. Loteprednol is a prescription medicine with approved uses on its FDA label. Goldenseal is a supplement: what follows is what researchers have looked at it for, and how strong that evidence is.

Loteprednol is prescribed for: Loteprednol ophthalmic suspension is used to treat steroid-responsive inflammatory conditions of the eye, including allergic conjunctivitis, iritis (inflammation inside the eye), cyclitis, superficial punctate keratitis, herpes zoster keratitis, acne rosacea affecting the eye, and certain types of infectious conjunctivitis — when reducing swelling and inflammation is important enough to accept the risks of steroid use. Loteprednol ophthalmic suspension is also used to treat inflammation after eye surgery. Eysuvis (loteprednol etabonate ophthalmic suspension) is specifically indicated for short-term use of up to two weeks for these inflammatory conditions.

Goldenseal has been studied for:

  • Conjunctivitis studied, not established Goldenseal has been studied for this. Natural Medicines rates the evidence: Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Read what the research shows

    Goldenseal for conjunctivitis

    Although there has been interest in using goldenseal as an eye drop for conjunctivitis, there is insufficient reliable information about the clinical effects of goldenseal for this purpose.

Effectiveness ratings and the research summaries above are the verbatim record from the Natural Medicines database, which grades evidence from “Effective” down to “Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate”. A rating below the top of that scale means researchers have looked at it — not that it works, and never that it can stand in for a prescribed medicine. Do not stop or replace Loteprednol on your own; if you are taking Goldenseal for the same health topic, tell your prescriber, especially if the medicine is being adjusted to a target.

One more smart check

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

We hold 1,726 real supplement products containing Goldenseal, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Goldenseal. Even though Goldenseal itself has no known interaction with Loteprednol, 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 Goldenseal and Loteprednol 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 Goldenseal
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Loteprednol
Top 25%

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

What is Goldenseal?

Goldenseal
  • Digestive upset and diarrhea
  • Colds and respiratory infections
  • Sore throat and mouth sores
  • Skin and eye irritation (topical/traditional)
  • Antimicrobial support

Goldenseal is a popular North American herb that contains berberine, a compound studied for antimicrobial effects. However, strong human evidence for its many traditional uses is largely lacking, and it should be avoided during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Talk to a pharmacist or doctor before using it.

Hydrastis canadensis · Ranunculaceae · Root and rhizome (underground stem) · Capsules, tablets, dried root, liquid extracts, tinctures, teas, and topical preparations

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

Goldenseal: dosing

There is no well-established standardized dose for goldenseal. Studies have used different products, extracts, and amounts, making it hard to recommend a single dose.The safest approach is to follow the directions on the product label and not exceed the recommended amount. Because supplements are not tightly regulated, the actual berberine content can vary a lot between brands.Goldenseal is best used short-term rather than continuously.

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

Read the full Goldenseal monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Loteprednol Ophthalmic

What Is Loteprednol Ophthalmic Used For?

Brand names: Lotemax, Alrex

Loteprednol ophthalmic suspension is used to treat steroid-responsive inflammatory conditions of the eye, including allergic conjunctivitis, iritis (inflammation inside the eye), cyclitis, superficial punctate keratitis, herpes zoster keratitis, acne rosacea affecting the eye, and certain types of infectious conjunctivitis — when reducing swelling and inflammation is important enough to accept the risks of steroid use.

Loteprednol ophthalmic suspension is also used to treat inflammation after eye surgery. Eysuvis (loteprednol etabonate ophthalmic suspension) is specifically indicated for short-term use of up to two weeks for these inflammatory conditions.

See full Loteprednol Ophthalmic drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Goldenseal

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

0Major
1,236Moderate
1Minor
1,592No known interaction
1,236 Moderate 1 Minor 1,592 No interaction
Moderate

1,236 interactions

Showing 60 of 1,236 moderate interactions — see all 1,236 on the Goldenseal page.

Minor

1 interaction

No interaction 1,592 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 1,592 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Goldenseal list.

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

Goldenseal References

The 34 references that drive our Goldenseal 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. Chan E. Displacement of bilirubin from albumin by berberine. Biol Neonate 1993;63:201-8. PubMed
  2. 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
  3. Sandhu RS, Prescilla RP, Simonelli TM, Edwards DJ. Influence of goldenseal root on the pharmacokinetics of indinavir. J Clin Pharmacol 2003;43:1283-8.. PubMed
  4. Janbaz KH, Gilani AH. Studies on preventive and curative effects of berberine on chemical-induced hepatotoxicity in rodents. Fitoterapia 2000;71:25-33.. PubMed
  5. Gurley BJ, Gardner SF, Hubbard MA, et al. In vivo effects of goldenseal, kava kava, black cohosh, and valerian on human cytochrome P450 1A2, 2D6, 2E1, and 3A4/5 phenotypes. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2005;77:415-26. PubMed
  6. Gurley BJ, Swain A, Barone GW, et al. Effect of goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) and kava kava (Piper methysticum) supplementation on digoxin pharmacokinetics in humans. Drug Metab Dispos 2007;35:240-5. PubMed
  7. Gurley BJ, Swain A, Hubbard MA, et al. Clinical assessement of CYP2D6-mediated herb-drug interactions in humans: Effects of milk-thistle, black cohosh, goldenseal, kava kava, St. John's wort, and Echinacea. Mol Nutr Food Res 2008;52:755-63.
  8. Zhang Y, Li X, Zou D, et al. Treatment of type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia with the natural plant alkaloid berberine. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2008;93:2559-65. PubMed
  9. Chatterjee P, Franklin MR. Human cytochrome p450 inhibition and metabolic-intermediate complex formation by goldenseal extract and its methylenedioxyphenyl components. Drug Metab Dispos 2003;31:1391-7. PubMed
  10. Choudhry, V. P., Sabir, M., and Bhide, V. N. Berberine in giardiasis. Indian Pediatr. 1972;9(3):143-146.
  11. Shanbhag, S. M., Kulkarni, H. J., and Gaitonde, B. B. Pharmacological actions of berberine on the central nervous system. Jpn.J Pharmacol 1970;20(4):482-487. PubMed
  12. Wu, J. F. and Liu, T. P. [Effects of berberine on platelet aggregation and plasma levels of TXB2 and 6-keto-PGF1 alpha in rats with reversible middle cerebral artery occlusion]. Yao Xue.Xue.Bao. 1995;30(2):98-102.
  13. Peng, W. H., Hsieh, M. T., and Wu, C. R. Effect of long-term administration of berberine on scopolamine-induced amnesia in rats. Jpn J Pharmacol 1997;74(3):261-266. DOI
  14. Sharda DC. Berberine in the treatment of diarrhoea of infancy and childhood. J Indian M A 1970;54(1):22-24.
  15. Sabir M and Bhide NK. Study of some pharmacological actions of berberine. Ind J Physiol & Pharmac 1971;15(3):111-132.

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 Goldenseal and Loteprednol Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Goldenseal with Loteprednol?
We do not list a known interaction between Goldenseal and Loteprednol. 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 Goldenseal and Loteprednol have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to one 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.
Are Goldenseal and Loteprednol used for the same thing?
They overlap in purpose, which usually means the real question is whether you need both rather than whether they are safe together. This page lists the shared uses and how strong the evidence is for Goldenseal in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Loteprednol is being adjusted to a target.
Does Goldenseal interact with any other medications?
Yes. Goldenseal has 1,237 documented drug interactions in our database — Loteprednol is simply not one of them. If you take anything else, it is worth checking each one; they are all listed on this page.

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

Where next

Keep Exploring

Goldenseal monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Loteprednol Ophthalmic drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Loteprednol supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Loteprednol, 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 34 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

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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.