Drug & supplement interaction

Hordenine + Thioridazine

Thioridazine brand name: Mellaril.

Minor Interaction
The bottom line Minor

Hordenine has a minor interaction with Thioridazine. Hordenine weakly inhibits cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) enzymes in vitro.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityMinor
LikelihoodPossible
EvidenceD
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Hordenine and Thioridazine

Here is the interaction we found between these two, with the evidence behind it.

Minor

CYTOCHROME P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) SUBSTRATES

Why this applies to Thioridazine

Thioridazine falls under CYTOCHROME P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) SUBSTRATES — the group Hordenine interacts with.

Hordenine weakly inhibits cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) enzymes in vitro. Theoretically, hordenine might increase the levels of CYP2D6 substrates.
Some of drugs that are CYP2D6 substrates include amitriptyline (Elavil), clozapine (Clozaril), codeine, desipramine (Norpramin), donepezil (Aricept), fentanyl (Duragesic), flecainide (Tambocor), fluoxetine (Prozac), meperidine (Demerol), methadone (Dolophine), metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol XL), olanzapine (Zyprexa), ondansetron (Zofran), tramadol (Ultram), trazodone (Desyrel), and others.
Severity Minor Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Interaction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here's the thing about thioridazine: your liver leans heavily on an enzyme called CYP2D6 to clear it from your body. Hordenine, in lab tests only, appears to weakly block that same enzyme. If that happened in real life, thioridazine could clear a little slower and build up, nudging up side effects like drowsiness, dizziness, dry mouth, or a faster or irregular heartbeat.

That last part matters most. Thioridazine is well known for affecting heart rhythm (prolonging the QT interval), so I'd rather not have anything pushing its levels higher. The good news is this is only a theoretical, weak interaction from test-tube data, not proven in people. Still, please run hordenine past your pharmacist or doctor before combining them.

References
  1. Liu Y, Santillo MF. Cytochrome P450 2D6 and 3A4 enzyme inhibition by amine stimulants in dietary supplements. Drug Test Anal. 2016;8(3-4):307-10. PubMed

What These Ratings Mean

Every interaction above is graded three ways — here’s the key to each label.

Severity how clinically significant the interaction is
Major

Clinically significant. Avoid the combination, or use only under close professional supervision.

Moderate

Usually worth avoiding or managing — may need monitoring, a dose change, or timing apart.

Minor

Generally not serious. Be aware of it and mention it to your pharmacist.

Likelihood how strong the evidence is that the interaction actually happens in people
  • LikelyWell-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction.
  • ProbableInteraction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports.
  • PossibleInteraction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.
  • UnlikelyInteraction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.
Evidence the quality of the studies behind the rating (graded A–D)
  • AHigh-quality meta-analysis (quantitative systematic review).
  • BCase-control study.
  • CConsensus.
  • DAnecdotal evidence.

These ratings are for information only. Never start, stop, or otherwise change your therapy before speaking with your provider.

Keep it in perspective

Hordenine Also Interacts With Other Medications

Hordenine has 180 moderate, 148 minor known drug interactions in our database — the Thioridazine one above is one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Hordenine

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Hordenine or Thioridazine

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

This page covers Hordenine only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Thioridazine page lists 168 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), American Hellebore (major), Arsenic (major), Cesium (major) and Ephedra (major).

By severity: 11 major · 125 moderate · 32 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Thioridazine page

“Thioridazine (Mellaril) is an older antipsychotic already known for disturbing the heart's rhythm, and the supplements that worry me most here do the same thing, stretching the QT interval further. Grapefruit in large amounts sits in that group, alongside ephedra and several other major-rated entries.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Thioridazine interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 339 real supplement products containing Hordenine, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Hordenine. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Thioridazine too, on top of Hordenine — and those would not show on this page. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Hordenine and Thioridazine 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 Hordenine
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Thioridazine
Steady interest

#1,779 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.

Supplement

About Hordenine

What is Hordenine?

Hordenine
  • Energy and stimulation
  • Athletic and workout performance
  • Weight loss/fat burning
  • Focus and mood
  • Appetite control

Hordenine is a natural alkaloid found in barley and some cacti that is marketed as a stimulant for energy, focus, and fat loss, but solid human evidence for these benefits is lacking. Its safety in people has not been well studied, so caution is warranted, and it should be avoided in pregnancy, breastfeeding, and by people with heart conditions.

Read the full Hordenine monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Thioridazine

What Is Thioridazine Used For?

Brand name: Mellaril

Thioridazine Hydrochloride tablets are used for the management of schizophrenia — but only in patients who have already tried at least two other antipsychotic medications without adequate results, either because those drugs didn't work well enough or caused intolerable side effects.

Because thioridazine carries serious heart-rhythm risks, it is considered a last-resort option for schizophrenia, not a first-line treatment. It is not approved for dementia-related psychosis or any other psychiatric condition.

See full Thioridazine drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Hordenine

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

0Major
180Moderate
148Minor
2,501No known interaction
Moderate

180 interactions

Showing 60 of 180 moderate interactions — see all 180 on the Hordenine page.

Minor

148 interactions

Showing 60 of 148 minor interactions — see all 148 on the Hordenine page.

No interaction 2,501 drugs checked — show the list
Sources

Sources & How We Checked

Interaction details are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database. The medication overview comes from MedlinePlus.

Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists. See our data sources and editorial standards for how this information is built and checked.

Parts of this content are provided by the Therapeutic Research Center, LLC.

DISCLAIMER: Currently this does not check for drug-drug interactions. This is not an all-inclusive comprehensive list of potential interactions and is for informational purposes only. Not all interactions are known or well-reported in the scientific literature, and new interactions are continually being reported. Input is needed from a qualified healthcare provider including a pharmacist before starting any therapy. Application of clinical judgment is necessary.

© 2021 Therapeutic Research Center, LLC

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Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Hordenine and Thioridazine Together: Common Questions

Can you take Hordenine with Thioridazine?
There is only a minor interaction, which is usually not serious. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
How serious is the Hordenine and Thioridazine interaction?
We rate it Minor. This interaction is generally not clinically significant, but it remains worth noting and discussing with your pharmacist.

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

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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.