Drug & supplement interaction

Inositol Nicotinate + Hydroxychloroquine

Hydroxychloroquine brand name: Plaquenil.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Inositol Nicotinate and Hydroxychloroquine 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. Additionally, although there is no interaction, the label for Hydroxychloroquine states a food rule worth keeping to, and the two are separately associated with some of the same side effects, which would make a new symptom harder to attribute to one or the other.

Know someone taking this? Share
Interaction report

Inositol Nicotinate and Hydroxychloroquine

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 Hydroxychloroquine and Inositol Nicotinate 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.

Inositol Nicotinate safety at a glance

Inositol Nicotinat... overall Use caution Generally tolerated short-term but evidence is limited and high-dose niacin compounds can affect the liver.
Pregnancy Avoid Not enough safety data; avoid unless directed by your doctor.
Breastfeeding Avoid Safety has not been established; best to avoid.

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

Still wondering about combining Hydroxychloroquine and Inositol Nicotinate? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Hydroxychloroquine

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Hydroxychloroquine is filed under 3 classifications — cytochrome p450 2d6 (cyp2d6) inhibitors, qt interval-prolonging drugs, oral drugs. Inositol Nicotinate has documented interactions with 4 drug classes — the most serious being anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs (moderate), antidiabetes drugs (moderate) and hmg-coa reductase inhibitors ("statins") (moderate) — and none of Hydroxychloroquine’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

Inositol Nicotinate Does Interact With Other Medications

Inositol Nicotinate has 223 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Hydroxychloroquine isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Inositol Nicotinate

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Inositol Nicotinate and Hydroxychloroquine May Share Several of the Same Side Effects

This is not an interaction. Neither one changes how your body handles the other, and nothing here says they react together. What our sources do show is that each has separately been linked to the effects below — so taking both can make those effects more likely to turn up, and harder to pin on one or the other if they do. One of them is worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Liver problems Worth acting on Additional detail

    Inositol Nicotinate

    “Orally, inositol nicotinate is converted to niacin and is therefore likely to cause similar side effects as niacin. Niacin is associated with elevated liver function tests and jaundice, especially with doses of 3 grams daily or more, and when doses are rapidly increased. Because inositol nicotinate is converted to niacin, it may also cause hepatotoxicity”

    Inositol Nicotinate · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in neonatal jaundice.

    5 sources cited
    1. 496. Anon. Inositol hexaniacinate. Altern Med Rev 1998;3:222-3.
    2. 4458. Knodel LC, Talbert RL. Adverse effects of hypolipidaemic drugs. Med Toxicol 1987;2:10-32. PubMed
    3. 4863. American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. ASHP Therapeutic Position Statement on the safe use of niacin in the management of dyslipidemias. Am J Health Syst Pharm 1997;54:2815-9. DOI
    4. 6243. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin, and Choline (2000). Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2000. Available at: http://b
    5. 11690. Figge HL, Figge J, Souney PF, et al. Nicotinic acid: a review of its clinical use in the treatment of lipid disorders. Pharmacotherapy 1988;8:287-94. PubMed

    Hydroxychloroquine

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Hydroxychloroquine. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Itching Additional detail

    Inositol Nicotinate

    “Orally, inositol nicotinate is converted to niacin and is therefore likely to cause similar side effects as niacin, including pruritus.”

    Inositol Nicotinate · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in pruritus.

    1 source cited
    1. 496. Anon. Inositol hexaniacinate. Altern Med Rev 1998;3:222-3.

    Hydroxychloroquine

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Hydroxychloroquine. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Stomach pain Additional detail

    Inositol Nicotinate

    “Orally, inositol nicotinate is generally well tolerated.

    Most Common Adverse Effects:

    Orally: Abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, flushing, heartburn, liver enzyme elevation, nausea, vomiting.”

    Inositol Nicotinate · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in constipation.

    Hydroxychloroquine

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Hydroxychloroquine. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Diarrhea / Vomiting / Nausea Additional detail

    Inositol Nicotinate

    “Orally, inositol nicotinate is converted to niacin and is therefore likely to cause similar side effects as niacin, including gastrointestinal complaints such as nausea, vomiting, bloating, heartburn, diarrhea, and constipation. These adverse effects from niacin may be reduced by taking it with meals or antacids, and usually disappear within two weeks of continued therapy.”

    Inositol Nicotinate · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in constipation.

    4 sources cited
    1. 496. Anon. Inositol hexaniacinate. Altern Med Rev 1998;3:222-3.
    2. 4851. Gibbons LW, Gonzalez V, Gordon N, Grundy S. The prevalence of side effects with regular and sustained-release nicotinic acid. Am J Med 1995;99:378-85. PubMed
    3. 11690. Figge HL, Figge J, Souney PF, et al. Nicotinic acid: a review of its clinical use in the treatment of lipid disorders. Pharmacotherapy 1988;8:287-94. PubMed
    4. 26094. Brown WV. Niacin for lipid disorders. Indications, effectiveness, and safety. Postgrad Med. 1995 Aug;98(2):185-9, 192-3. PubMed

    Hydroxychloroquine

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Hydroxychloroquine. Read the label on DailyMed ›

Reported for Inositol Nicotinate but not commonly for Hydroxychloroquine: constipation, heartburn, bloating or gas and flushing.

Effects for Hydroxychloroquine come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Inositol Nicotinate come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Wording is matched across sources by our own clinical vocabulary, so treat this as a prompt to pay attention, not a diagnosis.

How to take them

Some Hydroxychloroquine Products Have a Food Rule — Inositol Nicotinate Should Not Break It

At least one FDA label for a product containing Hydroxychloroquine says to take it with food. If you take Inositol Nicotinate on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate — and take Hydroxychloroquine with a meal where the label says to.

This may not be true of your version. Food instructions belong to the product, not the ingredient: two Hydroxychloroquine products can carry different directions, and extended-release forms often differ from immediate-release ones. The label we read is quoted below — check the directions on your own box or bottle, or ask your pharmacist, for how to take the exact product you were given.

Rheumatoid Arthritis in Adults ( 2.3 ): Initial dosage: 400 mg to 600 mg daily Chronic dosage: 200 mg once daily or 400 mg once daily (or in two divided doses) Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Adults ( 2.4 ): 200 mg once daily or 400 mg once daily (or in two divided doses) Chronic Discoid Lupus Erythematosus in Adults ( 2.5 ): 200 mg once daily or 400 mg once daily (or in two divided doses) 2.1 Imp

From the Dosage and Administration section of the FDA label we read for Hydroxychloroquine — where that label names a specific product, the instruction is that product's. Read the label on DailyMed ›

A food rule is not an interaction — it is about how much of the medicine you absorb. The directions that came with your own product, and your pharmacist, outrank anything on this page.

From our Q&A

Questions About Inositol Nicotinate or Hydroxychloroquine

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

This page covers Inositol Nicotinate only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Hydroxychloroquine page lists 32 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: 7 major · 16 moderate · 9 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Hydroxychloroquine page

“Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) can stretch the QT interval on its own, the pause between heartbeats that, prolonged too far, can trigger a dangerous rhythm. Thirteen of the supplements and herbs on this page add to that same effect, grapefruit in large amounts among them, and that overlap is why this list calls for genuine care rather…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Hydroxychloroquine interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 202 real supplement products containing Inositol Nicotinate, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Inositol Nicotinate. Even though Inositol Nicotinate itself has no known interaction with Hydroxychloroquine, 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 Inositol Nicotinate and Hydroxychloroquine 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 Inositol Nicotinate
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Hydroxychloroquine
Top 25%

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

What is Inositol Nicotinate?

Inositol Nicotinate
  • Cholesterol support
  • Improving circulation
  • Raynaud's phenomenon
  • Intermittent claudication (leg pain with walking)
  • A 'no-flush' niacin alternative

Inositol nicotinate is a 'no-flush' form of niacin marketed for cholesterol and circulation. Evidence that it works as well as regular niacin is weak and inconsistent, and it is not a proven replacement for prescription cholesterol treatment. Talk to your pharmacist or doctor before using it, especially if you have liver problems or take other medicines.

Synthetic compound (inositol bound to niacin/nicotinic acid) · Tablets, capsules

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

Inositol Nicotinate: dosing

There is no well-established standard dose for inositol nicotinate, and products vary widely. Do not assume a higher dose is safer or more effective.

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

Read the full Inositol Nicotinate monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Hydroxychloroquine

What Is Hydroxychloroquine Used For?

Brand name: Plaquenil

Hydroxychloroquine tablets are used to treat uncomplicated malaria and to help prevent malaria in areas where the parasite has not developed resistance to it — in both adults and children. It is also used in adults to treat rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and chronic discoid lupus erythematosus.

There are important limits: it is not recommended for complicated or drug-resistant malaria, malaria acquired in regions where resistance is known, or to prevent malaria relapses caused by P. vivax or P. ovale. Its use for the autoimmune conditions (rheumatoid arthritis and lupus) is approved for adults only.

See full Hydroxychloroquine drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Inositol Nicotinate

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

0Major
223Moderate
0Minor
2,606No known interaction
Moderate

223 interactions

Showing 60 of 223 moderate interactions — see all 223 on the Inositol Nicotinate page.

No interaction 2,606 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Inositol Nicotinate References

The 21 references that drive our Inositol Nicotinate 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. Anon. Inositol hexaniacinate. Altern Med Rev 1998;3:222-3.
  2. Holti G. An experimentally controlled evaluation of the effect of inositol nicotinate upon the digital blood flow in patients with Raynaud's phenomenon. J Int Med Res 1979;7:473-83. PubMed
  3. Knodel LC, Talbert RL. Adverse effects of hypolipidaemic drugs. Med Toxicol 1987;2:10-32. PubMed
  4. Gibbons LW, Gonzalez V, Gordon N, Grundy S. The prevalence of side effects with regular and sustained-release nicotinic acid. Am J Med 1995;99:378-85. PubMed
  5. Crouse JR III. New developments in the use of niacin for treatment of hyperlipidemia: new considerations in the use of an old drug. Coron Artery Dis 1996;7:321-6. PubMed
  6. Garg A, Grundy SM. Nicotinic acid as therapy for dyslipidemia in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. JAMA 1990;264:723-6. DOI
  7. American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. ASHP Therapeutic Position Statement on the safe use of niacin in the management of dyslipidemias. Am J Health Syst Pharm 1997;54:2815-9. DOI
  8. Guyton JR, Goldberg AC, Kreisberg RA, et al. Effectiveness of once-nightly dosing of extended-release niacin alone and in combination for hypercholesterolemia. Am J Cardiol 1998;82:737-43.
  9. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin, and Choline (2000). Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2000. Available at: http://b
  10. Brown BG, Zhao XQ, Chait A, et al. Simvastatin and niacin, antioxidant vitamins, or the combination for the prevention of coronary disease. N Engl J Med 2001;345:1583-93. DOI
  11. Bays HE, Dujovne CA. Drug interactions of lipid-altering drugs. Drug Saf 1998;19:355-71. PubMed
  12. Figge HL, Figge J, Souney PF, et al. Nicotinic acid: a review of its clinical use in the treatment of lipid disorders. Pharmacotherapy 1988;8:287-94. PubMed
  13. McKenney J. New perspectives on the use of niacin in the treatment of lipid disorders. Arch Intern Med 2004;164:697-705. PubMed
  14. Reaven P, Witztum JL. Lovastatin, nicotinic acid and rhabdomyolysis (letter). Ann Int Med 1988;109:597-8. PubMed
  15. Ito MK. Advances in the understanding and management of dyslipidemia: using niacin-based therapies. Am J Health-Syst Pharm 2003;60(suppl 2):s15-21. 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 Inositol Nicotinate and Hydroxychloroquine Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Inositol Nicotinate with Hydroxychloroquine?
We do not list a known interaction between Inositol Nicotinate and Hydroxychloroquine. 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.
Do Inositol Nicotinate and Hydroxychloroquine have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 6 of the same effects. That is not an interaction: neither changes how your body handles the other. It does mean that if one of those effects turns up, it can be harder to tell which one is behind it. They are listed on this page with the source behind each.
Should I take Inositol Nicotinate and Hydroxychloroquine at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Hydroxychloroquine says to take it with food. If you take Inositol Nicotinate on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate and take Hydroxychloroquine with a meal where the label says to. Food instructions belong to the product rather than the ingredient — two Hydroxychloroquine products can differ — so check the directions on your own box. This is about absorption, not an interaction.
How was the Inositol Nicotinate and Hydroxychloroquine combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Hydroxychloroquine is filed under 3 classifications, and Inositol Nicotinate has documented interactions with 4 drug classes — none of Hydroxychloroquine'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 Inositol Nicotinate interact with any other medications?
Yes. Inositol Nicotinate has 223 documented drug interactions in our database — Hydroxychloroquine 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 Hydroxychloroquine interact with any supplements?
Yes. Hydroxychloroquine has documented interactions with 32 supplements in our database — Inositol Nicotinate is not one of them. The Hydroxychloroquine interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

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

Still Have a Question About Hydroxychloroquine and Inositol Nicotinate?

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.