Drug & supplement interaction

Hops + Lactulose

Lactulose brand names: Cephulac, Constulose, Constilac, Evalose, Laxilose, and others.

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 Hops and Lactulose 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.

Know someone taking this? Share
Facebook Post Reddit Email
On this page
Interaction report

Hops and Lactulose

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 Lactulose and Hops 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.

Hops safety at a glance

Hops overall Use caution Generally well tolerated short-term but may cause drowsiness; long-term safety is not well studied.
Pregnancy Avoid Not enough safety information; best avoided during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Avoid Safety is unknown, so avoid use while breastfeeding.

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

Still wondering about combining Lactulose and Hops? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Lactulose

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Lactulose is filed under a single classification — oral drugs. Hops has documented interactions with 4 drug classes — the most serious being cns depressants (moderate), estrogens (moderate) and cytochrome p450 1a2 (cyp1a2) substrates (minor) — and none of Lactulose’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

Hops Does Interact With Other Medications

Hops has 289 moderate, 574 minor known drug interactions in our database — Lactulose isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 289 Minor 574 No known interaction 1,967 (incl. Lactulose)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Hops

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

What to actually watch for

What Hops Itself Has Been Linked To

This is not an interaction — nothing below involves Lactulose. It is the side-effect record for Hops on its own, from the licensed Natural Medicines monograph. If something new turns up after you add Hops, this list is the first place to look. 3 entries are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Shortness of breath Worth acting on Additional detail

    “Occupational exposure to dust from hops, usually in combination with dust from other products, is associated with chronic respiratory symptoms such as dry cough, dyspnea, chronic bronchitis, and other occupational respiratory diseases.”

    Hops · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in acute bronchitis.

    2 sources cited
    1. 55333. Skorska, C., Mackiewicz, B., Gora, A., Golec, M., and Dutkiewicz, J. Health effects of inhalation exposure to organic dust in hops farmers. Ann.Univ Mariae.Curie Sklodowska [Med] 2003;58(1):459-465.
    2. 55414. Godnic-Cvar, J., Zuskin, E., Mustajbegovic, J., Schachter, E. N., Kanceljak, B., Macan, J., Ilic, Z., and Ebling, Z. Respiratory and immunological findings in brewery workers. Am J Ind Med 1999;35(1):68-75. DOI
  • Bleeding or bruising Worth acting on Additional detail

    “Orally, supplements containing hops and soy have been associated with 4 cases of postmenopausal bleeding. It is unclear if this effect is due to hops, soy, or the combination. Also, menstrual disturbances have been reported in female workers harvesting hops.”

    Hops · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in bleeding.

    3 sources cited
    1. 55404. van Hunsel, F. P. and Kampschoer, P. [Postmenopausal bleeding and dietary supplements: a possible causal relationship with hop- and soy-containing preparations]. Ned.Tijdschr.Geneeskd. 2012;156(41):A5095.
    2. 10684. Milligan SR, Kalita JC, Heyerick A, et al. Identification of a potent phytoestrogen in hops (Humulus lupulus L.) and beer. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1999;84:2249-52.. PubMed
    3. 55405. Fenselau, C. and Talalay, P. Is oestrogenic activity present in hops? Food Cosmet.Toxicol. 1973;11(4):597-602. PubMed
  • An allergic reaction Worth acting on Additional detail

    “Topically, allergic reactions have been reported after contact with the fresh hops plant and plant dust. Contact dermatitis is attributed to the pollen (4,12,105930).”

    Hops · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in dermatitis.

    3 sources cited
    1. 4. Newall CA, Anderson LA, Philpson JD. Herbal Medicine: A Guide for Healthcare Professionals. London, UK: The Pharmaceutical Press, 1996.
    2. 12. McGuffin M, Hobbs C, Upton R, Goldberg A, eds. American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, LLC 1997.
    3. 105930. Assessment report on Humulus lupulus L., flos. European Medicines Agency, 2014. Available at: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/herbal-report/final-assessment-report-humulus-lupulus-l-flos_en.pdf. Accessed September 29, 2021.
  • Cough Additional detail

    Recorded for Hops in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Shortness of breath above.

  • A skin rash Additional detail

    Recorded for Hops in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under An allergic reaction above.

Everything above comes from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record for Hops — expand a row for the licensed statement it rests on. We read the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of Lactulose’s FDA label too, and the two lists don’t meaningfully overlap — which is why no Lactulose column appears here.

From our Q&A

Questions About Hops or Lactulose

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

This page covers Hops only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Lactulose page lists 17 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Coffee Charcoal (moderate), European Mandrake (moderate), Glucomannan (moderate) and Guar Gum (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 7 moderate · 9 minor.

Open the Lactulose interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 1,325 real supplement products containing Hops, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Hops. Even though Hops itself has no known interaction with Lactulose, 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 Hops and Lactulose 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 Hops
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Lactulose
Top half

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

What is Hops?

Hops
  • Sleep problems and insomnia
  • Anxiety and restlessness
  • Menopausal symptoms
  • Mild digestive complaints
  • Flavoring in beer and food

Hops are most often used for sleep and mild anxiety, frequently combined with valerian, but the human evidence is limited and not very strong. They are generally well tolerated when used short-term, though they may cause drowsiness, and should be avoided during pregnancy and breastfeeding because their safety is unknown.

Humulus lupulus · Cannabaceae · Female flowers (cones or strobiles) and their extracts · Capsules, tablets, tinctures, teas, dried flowers, and combination sleep formulas (often with valerian)

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

Hops: dosing

There is no well-established standardized dose for hops, and products vary widely in strength and form. Many sleep products combine hops with valerian, which makes a single recommended dose hard to define.The safest approach is to follow the directions on the product label and not exceed them. For sleep aids, short-term use is generally preferred over long-term daily use.

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

Read the full Hops monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Lactulose

What Is Lactulose Used For?

Brand names: Cephulac, Constulose, Constilac, Evalose, Laxilose, Enulose, Cholac, Heptalac, Generlac, Acilac, Chronulac, Duphalac

Lactulose is used for two main purposes, depending on the product. Constulose (oral solution) and Kristalose (powder for oral solution) are indicated for the treatment of constipation, helping increase the number of bowel movements in people with chronic constipation.

Enulose, Generlac, and Lactulose oral/rectal solutions are used to prevent and treat portal-systemic encephalopathy (PSE) — a condition where the liver cannot clear ammonia from the blood, causing confusion and even coma. These products work to lower blood ammonia levels and improve mental function in affected patients.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Lactulose

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (38,211 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Nausea 2,627 reports
Constipation 2,569 reports
Fall 2,304 reports
Vomiting 2,143 reports
Fatigue 2,099 reports
See full Lactulose drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Hops

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

0Major
289Moderate
574Minor
1,966No known interaction
289 Moderate 574 Minor 1,966 No interaction
Moderate

289 interactions

Showing 60 of 289 moderate interactions — see all 289 on the Hops page.

Minor

574 interactions

Showing 60 of 574 minor interactions — see all 574 on the Hops page.

No interaction 1,966 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 1,966 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Hops list.

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

Hops References

The 15 references that drive our Hops 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. Newall CA, Anderson LA, Philpson JD. Herbal Medicine: A Guide for Healthcare Professionals. London, UK: The Pharmaceutical Press, 1996.
  2. McGuffin M, Hobbs C, Upton R, Goldberg A, eds. American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, LLC 1997.
  3. Zava DT, Dollbaum CM, Blen M. Estrogen and progestin bioactivity of foods, herbs, and spices. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 1998;217:369-78. PubMed
  4. Milligan SR, Kalita JC, Heyerick A, et al. Identification of a potent phytoestrogen in hops (Humulus lupulus L.) and beer. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1999;84:2249-52.. PubMed
  5. Milligan SR, Kalita JC, Pocock V, et al. The endocrine activities of 8-prenylnaringenin and related hop (Humulus lupulus L.) flavonoids. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2000;85:4912-5.. DOI
  6. Henderson MC, Miranda CL, Stevens JF, et al. In vitro inhibition of human P450 enzymes by prenylated flavonoids from hops, Humulus lupulus. Xenobiotica 2000;30:235-51.. PubMed
  7. Mannering, G. J., Shoeman, J. A., and Deloria, L. B. Identification of the antibiotic hops component, colupulone, as an inducer of hepatic cytochrome P-4503A in the mouse. Drug Metab Dispos 1992;20(2):142-147. DOI
  8. Skorska, C., Mackiewicz, B., Gora, A., Golec, M., and Dutkiewicz, J. Health effects of inhalation exposure to organic dust in hops farmers. Ann.Univ Mariae.Curie Sklodowska [Med] 2003;58(1):459-465.
  9. Schiller, H., Forster, A., Vonhoff, C., Hegger, M., Biller, A., and Winterhoff, H. Sedating effects of Humulus lupulus L. extracts. Phytomedicine. 2006;13(8):535-541. PubMed
  10. van Hunsel, F. P. and Kampschoer, P. [Postmenopausal bleeding and dietary supplements: a possible causal relationship with hop- and soy-containing preparations]. Ned.Tijdschr.Geneeskd. 2012;156(41):A5095.
  11. Fenselau, C. and Talalay, P. Is oestrogenic activity present in hops? Food Cosmet.Toxicol. 1973;11(4):597-602. PubMed
  12. Godnic-Cvar, J., Zuskin, E., Mustajbegovic, J., Schachter, E. N., Kanceljak, B., Macan, J., Ilic, Z., and Ebling, Z. Respiratory and immunological findings in brewery workers. Am J Ind Med 1999;35(1):68-75. DOI
  13. Lee KM, Jung JS, Song DK, and et al. Effects of Humulus lupulus extract on the central nervous system in mice. Planta Med 1993;59(Suppl):A691.
  14. Assessment report on Humulus lupulus L., flos. European Medicines Agency, 2014. Available at: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/herbal-report/final-assessment-report-humulus-lupulus-l-flos_en.pdf. Accessed September 29, 2021.
  15. van Breemen RB, Chen L, Tonsing-Carter A, et al. Pharmacokinetic Interactions of a Hop Dietary Supplement with Drug Metabolism in Perimenopausal and Postmenopausal Women. J Agric Food Chem. 2020;68(18):5212-5220. PubMed

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 Hops and Lactulose Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Hops with Lactulose?
We do not list a known interaction between Hops and Lactulose. 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 Hops and Lactulose combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Lactulose is filed under 1 classification, and Hops has documented interactions with 4 drug classes — none of Lactulose'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 Hops interact with any other medications?
Yes. Hops has 863 documented drug interactions in our database — Lactulose 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 Lactulose interact with any supplements?
Yes. Lactulose has documented interactions with 17 supplements in our database — Hops is not one of them. The Lactulose 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

Hops monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Lactulose drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Lactulose supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Lactulose, 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 15 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Lactulose and Hops?

Our pharmacists answer your medication & supplement questions — free.

Ask a pharmacist

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.