Drug & supplement interaction

Hoodia + Saquinavir

Saquinavir brand names: Invirase, Fortovase.

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 Saquinavir 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 Saquinavir

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 Saquinavir 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 Saquinavir and Hoodia? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Saquinavir

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Saquinavir is filed under 8 classifications — including protease inhibitors (pis), organic anion-transporting polypeptide substrates (oatp), cytochrome p450 3a4 (cyp3a4) inhibitors. 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 Saquinavir’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 — Saquinavir 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. Saquinavir)
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 Saquinavir. 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 Saquinavir 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 Saquinavir.

From our Q&A

Questions About Hoodia or Saquinavir

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

This page covers Hoodia only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Saquinavir page lists 175 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 · 130 moderate · 40 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Saquinavir page

“Saquinavir (Invirase), a protease inhibitor for HIV, only works while its blood level stays steady, which makes this a list to read carefully rather than skim. Five of the 175 ingredients carry a major rating, and several are ordinary drinks.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Saquinavir 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 Saquinavir, 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 Saquinavir 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 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Saquinavir
Top 25%

#478 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 Saquinavir 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 Saquinavir

What Is Saquinavir Used For?

Brand names: Invirase, Fortovase

  • Saquinavir is used in combination with ritonavir (Norvir) and other medications to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Saquinavir is in a class of medications called protease inhibitors. It works by decreasing the amount of HIV in the blood. Although saquinavir does not cure HIV, it may decrease your chance of developing acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and HIV-related illnesses such as serious infections or cancer. Taking these medications along with practicing safer sex and making other lifestyle changes may decrease the risk of transmitting the HIV virus to other people.

See full Saquinavir 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 Saquinavir, 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 Saquinavir Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Hoodia with Saquinavir?
We do not list a known interaction between Hoodia and Saquinavir. 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 Saquinavir combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Saquinavir is filed under 8 classifications, and Hoodia has documented interactions with 4 drug classes — none of Saquinavir'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 — Saquinavir 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 Saquinavir interact with any supplements?
Yes. Saquinavir has documented interactions with 175 supplements in our database — Hoodia is not one of them. The Saquinavir 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 Saquinavir drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Saquinavir supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Saquinavir, 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 Saquinavir 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.