Drug & supplement interaction

Hoodia + Interferon Beta-1a

Interferon Beta-1a brand names: Rebif, Avonex.

No Known Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 20, 2026
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Hoodia and Interferon Beta-1a 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

Hoodia and Interferon Beta-1a

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 Interferon Beta-1a and Hoodia 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.

Hoodia safety at a glance

Hoodia overall Use caution Limited safety data exist, and side effects and product quality concerns have been reported.
Pregnancy Avoid There is not enough safety information, so avoid use during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Avoid There is not enough 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 Interferon Beta-1a and Hoodia? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Interferon Beta-1a

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Interferon Beta-1a is filed under 2 classifications — photosensitizing drugs, hepatotoxic drugs. Hoodia has documented interactions with 4 drug classes — the most serious being antidiabetes drugs (moderate), antihypertensive drugs (moderate) and beta-blockers (moderate) — and none of Interferon Beta-1a’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

Hoodia Does Interact With Other Medications

Hoodia has 262 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Interferon Beta-1a isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 262 No known interaction 2,568 (incl. Interferon Beta-1a)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Hoodia

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

What to actually watch for

What Hoodia Itself Has Been Linked To

This is not an interaction — nothing below involves Interferon Beta-1a. It is the side-effect record for Hoodia on its own, from the licensed Natural Medicines monograph. If something new turns up after you add Hoodia, this list is the first place to look.

  • Dizziness / Headache Additional detail

    “Orally, hoodia has been reported to cause minor adverse effects including disturbances of skin sensation, headache, dizziness, giddiness, and nausea. There is also concern that hoodia may increase blood pressure and heart rate.”

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

    1 source cited
    1. 18052. Blom WAM, Abrahamse SL, Bradford R, et al. Effects of 15-d repeated consumption of Hoodia gordonii purified extract on safety, ad libitum energy intake, and body weight in healthy, overweight women: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr 2011;94(5) PubMed

    “Orally, hoodia extract has been reported to cause headache, dizziness, and giddiness.”

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

    1 source cited
    1. 18052. Blom WAM, Abrahamse SL, Bradford R, et al. Effects of 15-d repeated consumption of Hoodia gordonii purified extract on safety, ad libitum energy intake, and body weight in healthy, overweight women: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr 2011;94(5) PubMed
  • Nausea Additional detail

    “Orally, hoodia extract has been reported to cause nausea.”

    Hoodia · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in nausea and vomiting.

    1 source cited
    1. 18052. Blom WAM, Abrahamse SL, Bradford R, et al. Effects of 15-d repeated consumption of Hoodia gordonii purified extract on safety, ad libitum energy intake, and body weight in healthy, overweight women: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr 2011;94(5) PubMed

Everything above comes from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record for Hoodia — expand a row for the licensed statement it rests on. We haven’t matched Interferon Beta-1a 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 Interferon Beta-1a.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Interferon Beta-1a

This page covers Hoodia only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Interferon Beta-1a page lists 57 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Beer (major), Siberian Cocklebur (major), Wine (major), Alfalfa (moderate) and Angelica Archangelica (moderate).

By severity: 3 major · 53 moderate · 1 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Interferon Beta-1a page

“Siberian cocklebur, an herb tied to documented cases of liver failure, is the first name to know for anyone injecting interferon beta-1a (Rebif, Avonex) for multiple sclerosis. Interferon beta-1a can strain the liver on its own, which is why prescribers order routine liver blood tests, and 38 of the 57 supplements on file carry that sa…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Interferon Beta-1a interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 283 real supplement products containing Hoodia, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Hoodia. Even though Hoodia itself has no known interaction with Interferon Beta-1a, 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 Hoodia and Interferon Beta-1a 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 Hoodia
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Interferon Beta-1a
Steady interest

#2,614 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 Hoodia reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Hoodia and Interferon Beta-1a 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 Hoodia

What is Hoodia?

Hoodia
  • Appetite suppression
  • Weight loss
  • Reducing food cravings
  • Traditional use for hunger and thirst on long journeys

Hoodia is a succulent plant from southern Africa that is marketed as an appetite suppressant for weight loss, but solid human evidence that it actually works is lacking. The few quality studies done have not shown meaningful weight loss, and some products on the market may not even contain real hoodia. Talk with your pharmacist or doctor before trying it, and avoid it if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Hoodia gordonii · Apocynaceae · Stem (aerial parts) · Capsules, tablets, powders, liquid extracts, teas, chews

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

Hoodia: dosing

There is no established, well-studied dose for hoodia. Products vary widely in their strength, purity, and how they are made, and some may not contain genuine hoodia at all.If you choose to try a hoodia supplement, follow the directions on the product label and do not exceed the recommended amount.

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

Read the full Hoodia monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Interferon Beta-1a Intramuscular Injection

What Is Interferon Beta-1a Intramuscular Injection Used For?

Brand names: Rebif, Avonex

  • Interferon beta-1a intramuscular injection is used to treat adults with various forms of multiple sclerosis (MS; a disease in which the nerves do not function properly and people may experience weakness, numbness, loss of muscle coordination, and problems with vision, speech, and bladder control) including:

    • clinically isolated syndrome (CIS; nerve symptom episodes that last at least 24 hours),

    • relapsing-remitting forms (course of disease where symptoms flare up from time to time), or

    • secondary progressive forms (course of disease where relapses occur more often).

  • Interferon beta-1a is in a class of medications called immunomodulators. It works by decreasing inflammation and preventing nerve damage that may cause symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Interferon Beta-1a

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (192,069 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Multiple sclerosis relapse 15,851 reports
Influenza like illness 13,253 reports
Fatigue 11,554 reports
Fall 10,604 reports
Multiple sclerosis 9,358 reports
See full Interferon Beta-1a Intramuscular Injection drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Hoodia

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

0Major
262Moderate
0Minor
2,567No known interaction
262 Moderate 2,567 No interaction
Moderate

262 interactions

Showing 60 of 262 moderate interactions — see all 262 on the Hoodia page.

No interaction 2,567 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,567 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Hoodia list.

See the full Hoodia interactions page
See every supplement checked against Interferon Beta-1a, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Hoodia References

The 3 references that drive our Hoodia 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. Blom WAM, Abrahamse SL, Bradford R, et al. Effects of 15-d repeated consumption of Hoodia gordonii purified extract on safety, ad libitum energy intake, and body weight in healthy, overweight women: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr 2011;94(5) PubMed
  2. Roza O, Lovász N, Zupkó I, Hohmann J, Csupor D. Sympathomimetic activity of a Hoodia gordonii product: a possible mechanism of cardiovascular side effects. Biomed Res Int. 2013;2013:171059.
  3. Zhang S, Ma Y, Li J, et al. Molecular matchmaking between the popular weight-loss herb Hoodia gordonii and GPR119, a potential drug target for metabolic disorder. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014;111(40):14571-6.

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 Hoodia and Interferon Beta-1a Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Hoodia with Interferon Beta-1a?
We do not list a known interaction between Hoodia and Interferon Beta-1a. 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 Hoodia and Interferon Beta-1a combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Interferon Beta-1a is filed under 2 classifications, and Hoodia has documented interactions with 4 drug classes — none of Interferon Beta-1a'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 Hoodia interact with any other medications?
Yes. Hoodia has 262 documented drug interactions in our database — Interferon Beta-1a 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 Interferon Beta-1a interact with any supplements?
Yes. Interferon Beta-1a has documented interactions with 57 supplements in our database — Hoodia is not one of them. The Interferon Beta-1a 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

Hoodia monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Interferon Beta-1a Intramuscular Injection drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Interferon Beta-1a supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Interferon Beta-1a, 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 3 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Interferon Beta-1a and Hoodia?

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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.