Drug & supplement interaction

Horny Goat Weed + Macitentan, Tadalafil

Macitentan, Tadalafil brand name: Opsynvi.

Moderate Interaction
The bottom line Moderate

Macitentan, Tadalafil falls into 2 drug categories that Horny Goat Weed can interact with; the most serious is rated moderate. Theoretically, horny goat weed might increase the risk of hypotension.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityModerate
LikelihoodPossible
Interactions2
EvidenceD
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Horny Goat Weed and Macitentan, Tadalafil

These two interact in 2 distinct ways. Each one is explained separately below.

Why Are There 2 Interactions?

Horny Goat Weed interacts with whole categories of medication. Macitentan, Tadalafil falls into 2 of those categories, so it can interact with Horny Goat Weed in 2 different ways. We’ve listed each one below — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them (Moderate).

Moderate

ANTIHYPERTENSIVE DRUGS

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Why this applies to Macitentan, Tadalafil

Macitentan, Tadalafil falls under ANTIHYPERTENSIVE DRUGS — the group Horny Goat Weed interacts with.

Theoretically, horny goat weed might increase the risk of hypotension.
Laboratory research suggests that horny goat weed might have hypotensive effects. This effect has not been reported in humans.
Severity Moderate 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

Opsynvi is a combo pill: macitentan relaxes blood vessels in the lungs, and tadalafil is a PDE5 inhibitor (the same family as Cialis) that also widens blood vessels. Both of these already tend to lower your blood pressure. Here's the catch with horny goat weed: lab studies hint that its main compound, icariin, may act a little like a PDE5 inhibitor too, and animal research suggests it could lower blood pressure on its own.

Stack that on top of Opsynvi and, in theory, your pressure could drop a bit too far, leaving you dizzy, lightheaded, flushed, or faint (especially standing up). I want to be honest though: this effect has only shown up in lab and animal work, not in people, so the real risk is uncertain. Please don't start or stop anything on your own. Just run it by your pharmacist or doctor first.

References
  1. Cirigliano MD, Szapary PO. Horny goat weed for erectile dysfunction. Alt Med Alert 2001;4:19-22.
Moderate

CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES

2 of 2

Macitentan, Tadalafil also falls under CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES.

Theoretically, horny goat weed might increase the effects and side effects of CYP3A4 substrates.
In vitro, horny goat weed extract inhibits CYP3A4 and suppresses CYP3A4 mRNA expression. This effect has not been reported in humans.
Severity Moderate 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

Opsynvi combines two medicines, macitentan and tadalafil, and both are cleared from your body partly by a liver enzyme called CYP3A4. In test-tube studies, horny goat weed slowed that enzyme down. If the same thing happened in people, these drugs could clear more slowly and build up a bit, which might mean stronger effects and more side effects, such as low blood pressure, dizziness, headache, flushing, or a stuffy nose.

Here's the honest part: this has only been seen in lab dishes, not in actual people, so it's theoretical. Still, since Opsynvi already lowers blood pressure and is used for a serious lung condition, I'd play it safe. Please check with your doctor or pharmacist before adding horny goat weed.

References
  1. Li K, Yu XH, Maskey AR, et al. Cytochrome P450 3A4 suppression by epimedium and active compound kaempferol leads to synergistic anti-inflammatory effect with corticosteroid. Front Pharmacol 2023;13:1042756. 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

Horny Goat Weed Also Interacts With Other Medications

Horny Goat Weed has 964 moderate known drug interactions in our database — the Macitentan, Tadalafil one above is among them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Horny Goat Weed

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Horny Goat Weed or Macitentan, Tadalafil

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Horny Goat Weed or Macitentan, Tadalafil, 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 Macitentan, Tadalafil

This page covers Horny Goat Weed only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Macitentan, Tadalafil page lists 264 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), American Hellebore (major), American Mistletoe (major), Beer (major) and Grapefruit (major).

By severity: 10 major · 215 moderate · 39 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Macitentan, Tadalafil page

“Opsynvi pairs macitentan and tadalafil to lower pressure in the lung arteries, so anything that drops blood pressure further or shifts how the body handles these drugs deserves genuine respect, and I would read this list carefully. Ten of the 264 ingredients rate major, and most of the rest fall into two camps: additive blood-pressure-…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Macitentan, Tadalafil interaction page

One more smart check

Taking Horny Goat Weed as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 183 real supplement products containing Horny Goat Weed, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Horny Goat Weed. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Macitentan, Tadalafil too, on top of Horny Goat Weed — 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 Horny Goat Weed and Macitentan, Tadalafil 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 Horny Goat Weed
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Macitentan, Tadalafil
Top 25%

#559 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 Horny Goat Weed

What is Horny Goat Weed?

Horny Goat Weed
  • Erectile dysfunction
  • Low libido
  • Fatigue and low energy
  • Bone health
  • Joint and menopausal symptoms
  • General 'vitality' or performance

Horny goat weed (Epimedium) is a traditional Chinese herb most often marketed for low libido and erectile problems, but solid human evidence for these uses is lacking. While short-term use seems generally tolerated by some people, quality and safety are not well studied, so talk to your pharmacist or doctor before trying it—especially if you have heart problems or take other medicines.

Read the full Horny Goat Weed monograph & all interactions
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Horny Goat Weed

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

0Major
964Moderate
0Minor
1,865No known interaction
Moderate

964 interactions

Showing 60 of 964 moderate interactions — see all 964 on the Horny Goat Weed page.

No interaction 1,865 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 1,865 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Horny Goat Weed 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 Horny Goat Weed and Macitentan, Tadalafil Together: Common Questions

Can you take Horny Goat Weed with Macitentan, Tadalafil?
There is a moderate interaction, so it may be acceptable with monitoring or timing changes — but check with your pharmacist first. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
Why are there 2 interactions listed for Horny Goat Weed and Macitentan, Tadalafil?
Macitentan, Tadalafil belongs to more than one drug category, and Horny Goat Weed interacts with each of those categories a little differently. We list every one so nothing is missed — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them.
How serious is the Horny Goat Weed and Macitentan, Tadalafil interaction?
We rate it Moderate. This combination may require monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separating the times you take each one. Consult your pharmacist before using them together.

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.