Drug & supplement interaction

Lime + Chloroquine

Chloroquine brand names: Aralen Phosphate, Aralen Phosphate Injection, Aralen HCL, Avloclor, Malarivon, 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 Lime and Chloroquine 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 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.

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Interaction report

Lime and Chloroquine

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 Chloroquine and Lime 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.

Lime safety at a glance

Lime overall Generally safe Lime is safe for most people when used as a normal food or drink.
Pregnancy Use caution Lime as food is generally fine, but concentrated extracts or essential oil should be avoided unless cleared by your doctor.
Breastfeeding Use caution Lime in food amounts is likely fine, but safety of concentrated products is not well studied.

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

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

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Chloroquine

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Chloroquine is filed under 4 classifications — including cytochrome p450 2d6 (cyp2d6) inhibitors, seizure threshold lowering drugs, oral drugs. Lime has documented interactions with 2 drug classes — the most serious being cytochrome p450 3a4 (cyp3a4) substrates (moderate) and photosensitizing drugs (moderate) — and none of Chloroquine’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

Lime Does Interact With Other Medications

Lime has 886 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Chloroquine isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 886 No known interaction 1,944 (incl. Chloroquine)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Lime

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Lime and Chloroquine 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.

  • Itching Additional detail

    Lime

    “Orally, lime juice may cause diarrhea or tooth sensitivity and wear, but these adverse effects are rare.

    Topically, lime oil and lime juice can cause allergic contact dermatitis (12,4058,100122,100132). Phytophotodermatitis is common when topical exposure to lime is followed by exposure to the sun.

    Intravaginally, 20% to 100% lime juice can cause burning, dryness, pain, itching, erythema, edema, or abnormal bleeding.”

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

    6 sources cited
    1. 59927. Garcia, O. P., Diaz, M., Rosado, J. L., and Allen, L. H. Ascorbic acid from lime juice does not improve the iron status of iron-deficient women in rural Mexico. Am.J.Clin.Nutr. 2003;78(2):267-273. PubMed
    2. 100123. Bamise CT, Dinyain VE, Kolawole KA. Dental erosion due to lime consumption; review of literature and case report. East Afr J Public Health. 2009;6(2):141-3. PubMed
    3. 100131. Rungruanghiranya S, Ekpanyaskul C, Sakulisariyaporn C, Watcharanat P, Akkalakulawas K. Efficacy of fresh lime for smoking cessation. J Med Assoc Thai. 2012;95 Suppl 12:S76-82.
    4. 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.
    5. 4058. Roesyanto-Mahadi ID, Geursen-Reitsma AM, van Joost T, et al. Sensitization to fragrance materials in Indonesian cosmetics. Contact Dermatitis 1990;22:212-7. PubMed
    6. 100122. Assarian Z, Nixon RL. Protein contact dermatitis caused by lime in a pastry chef. Contact Dermatitis. 2015;73(1):54-6. PubMed

    “Intravaginally, 20% lime juice has resulted in burning, dryness, erythema, and edema. Higher doses of 25%, 50%, or 100% lime juice were dose-dependently related to vaginal, cervical, or vulval symptoms, especially pain, itching, and abnormal bleeding. The abnormal bleeding was most common in women that had applied 100% lime juice with a tampon. Peeling, erythema, discharge, and tenderness also occurred.”

    Lime · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in erythema.

    2 sources cited
    1. 100127. Hemmerling A, Potts M, Walsh J, Young-Holt B, Whaley K, Stefanski DA. Lime juice as a candidate microbicide? An open-label safety trial of 10% and 20% lime juice used vaginally. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2007;16(7):1041-51. PubMed
    2. 100128. Mauck CK, Ballagh SA, Creinin MD, et al. Six-day randomized safety trial of intravaginal lime juice. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2008;49(3):243-50. PubMed

    Chloroquine

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

  • Diarrhea Additional detail

    Lime

    “Orally, diarrhea has been reported as an adverse effects in a clinical trial.”

    Lime · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in diarrhea.

    1 source cited
    1. 59927. Garcia, O. P., Diaz, M., Rosado, J. L., and Allen, L. H. Ascorbic acid from lime juice does not improve the iron status of iron-deficient women in rural Mexico. Am.J.Clin.Nutr. 2003;78(2):267-273. PubMed

    Chloroquine

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

  • A skin rash Additional detail

    Lime

    “Topically, lime can rarely contribute to allergic contact dermatitis.”

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

    3 sources cited
    1. 4058. Roesyanto-Mahadi ID, Geursen-Reitsma AM, van Joost T, et al. Sensitization to fragrance materials in Indonesian cosmetics. Contact Dermatitis 1990;22:212-7. PubMed
    2. 100122. Assarian Z, Nixon RL. Protein contact dermatitis caused by lime in a pastry chef. Contact Dermatitis. 2015;73(1):54-6. PubMed
    3. 100132. Swerdlin A, Rainey D, Storrs FJ. Fragrance mix reactions and lime allergic contact dermatitis. Dermatitis. 2010;21(4):214-6. DOI

    Chloroquine

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

Reported for Lime but not commonly for Chloroquine: bleeding or bruising and swelling.

Effects for Chloroquine come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Lime 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.

Overlapping uses

What Chloroquine Is Prescribed For, and What Lime Has Been Studied For

These two come up together because they touch the same health topic — not because they do the same job. Chloroquine is a prescription medicine with approved uses on its FDA label. Lime is a supplement: what follows is what researchers have looked at it for, and how strong that evidence is.

Chloroquine is prescribed for: Chloroquine Phosphate tablets are used to treat uncomplicated malaria caused by susceptible strains of P. falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale, and P.

Read the rest of what Chloroquine is prescribed for

vivax. They are also used to prevent malaria when traveling to areas where chloroquine-resistant strains are not present. Chloroquine Phosphate tablets are also approved for extraintestinal amebiasis — an infection with Entamoeba histolytica that has spread outside the intestines, such as to the liver. Important limitations apply: these tablets are not for complicated malaria, not for use in regions where chloroquine resistance is widespread, and they do not prevent malaria relapses caused by P. vivax or P. ovale without an additional medicine.

Lime has been studied for:

  • Malaria studied, not established Lime has been studied for this. Natural Medicines rates the evidence: Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Read what the research shows

    Lime for malaria

    Preliminary clinical research in children aged 5 months to 13 years with malaria shows that taking lime juice 10-15 mL three times daily in addition to artemisinin combination therapy reduces the time to achieve a reduction in parasite load of at least 75% by approximately 8 hours when compared with using artemisinin combination therapy alone.

    1 source cited
    1. 100120. Adegoke SA, Oyelami OA, Olatunya OS, Adeyemi LA. Effects of lime juice on malaria parasite clearance. Phytother Res. 2011;25(10):1547-50. PubMed

Effectiveness ratings and the research summaries above are the verbatim record from the Natural Medicines database, which grades evidence from “Effective” down to “Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate”. A rating below the top of that scale means researchers have looked at it — not that it works, and never that it can stand in for a prescribed medicine. Do not stop or replace Chloroquine on your own; if you are taking Lime for the same health topic, tell your prescriber, especially if the medicine is being adjusted to a target.

From our Q&A

Questions About Lime or Chloroquine

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

This page covers Lime only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Chloroquine page lists 29 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Hibiscus Sabdariffa (major), Biofeedback (moderate), Coffee Charcoal (moderate) and Dendrobium (moderate).

By severity: 2 major · 18 moderate · 9 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Chloroquine page

“Chloroquine treats and prevents malaria, and that is precisely why its interaction list earns genuine caution, because if a supplement keeps the drug from being fully absorbed, the infection itself can win. Of the 29 supplements and herbs on file, the dominant theme is reduced absorption, and both major-rated entries, activated charcoa…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Chloroquine interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 322 real supplement products containing Lime, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Lime. Even though Lime itself has no known interaction with Chloroquine, 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 Lime and Chloroquine 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 Lime
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Chloroquine
Top half

#1,191 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 Lime reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Lime and Chloroquine 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 Lime

What is Lime?

Lime
  • Source of vitamin C
  • Digestive upset
  • Skin care
  • Mood and aromatherapy
  • Flavoring and food preservation

Lime is a common citrus fruit and a good natural source of vitamin C and plant antioxidants. As a food it is generally safe and enjoyed by most people, but evidence that lime treats any specific health condition is limited. Use the essential oil with care, and check with your pharmacist or doctor before using concentrated lime products for health reasons.

Citrus aurantifolia · Rutaceae · Fruit, juice, peel, and essential oil · Fresh fruit, juice, essential oil, zest/peel, extracts

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

Lime: dosing

There is no standardized medicinal dose of lime. As a food, people use lime juice, zest, or wedges freely to taste.

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

Read the full Lime monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Chloroquine

What Is Chloroquine Used For?

Brand names: Aralen Phosphate, Aralen Phosphate Injection, Aralen HCL, Avloclor, Malarivon, Nivaquine

Chloroquine Phosphate tablets are used to treat uncomplicated malaria caused by susceptible strains of P. falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale, and P. vivax. They are also used to prevent malaria when traveling to areas where chloroquine-resistant strains are not present.

Chloroquine Phosphate tablets are also approved for extraintestinal amebiasis — an infection with Entamoeba histolytica that has spread outside the intestines, such as to the liver. Important limitations apply: these tablets are not for complicated malaria, not for use in regions where chloroquine resistance is widespread, and they do not prevent malaria relapses caused by P. vivax or P. ovale without an additional medicine.

See full Chloroquine drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Lime

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

0Major
886Moderate
0Minor
1,943No known interaction
886 Moderate 1,943 No interaction
Moderate

886 interactions

Showing 60 of 886 moderate interactions — see all 886 on the Lime page.

No interaction 1,943 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 1,943 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Lime list.

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

Lime References

The 20 references that drive our Lime 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. McGuffin M, Hobbs C, Upton R, Goldberg A, eds. American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, LLC 1997.
  2. Roesyanto-Mahadi ID, Geursen-Reitsma AM, van Joost T, et al. Sensitization to fragrance materials in Indonesian cosmetics. Contact Dermatitis 1990;22:212-7. PubMed
  3. Naganuma M, Hirose S, Nakayama Y, et al. A study of the phototoxicity of lemon oil. Arch Dermatol Res 1985;278:31-6. . PubMed
  4. Bailey DG, Dresser GK, Bend JR. Bergamottin, lime juice, and red wine as inhibitors of cytochrome P450 3A4 activity: comparison with grapefruit juice. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2003;73:529-37. PubMed
  5. Weber, I. C., Davis, C. P., and Greeson, D. M. Phytophotodermatitis: the other "lime" disease. J Emerg.Med 1999;17(2):235-237. PubMed
  6. Wagner, A. M., Wu, J. J., Hansen, R. C., Nigg, H. N., and Beiere, R. C. Bullous phytophotodermatitis associated with high natural concentrations of furanocoumarins in limes. Am.J Contact Dermat. 2002;13(1):10-14. PubMed
  7. Garcia, O. P., Diaz, M., Rosado, J. L., and Allen, L. H. Ascorbic acid from lime juice does not improve the iron status of iron-deficient women in rural Mexico. Am.J.Clin.Nutr. 2003;78(2):267-273. PubMed
  8. Coffman, K., Boyce, W. T., and Hansen, R. C. Phytophotodermatitis simulating child abuse. Am.J Dis.Child 1985;139(3):239-240. PubMed
  9. Adegoke SA, Oyelami OA, Olatunya OS, Adeyemi LA. Effects of lime juice on malaria parasite clearance. Phytother Res. 2011;25(10):1547-50. PubMed
  10. Adegoke SA, Shehu UA, Mohammed LO, Sanusi Y, Oyelami OA. Influence of lime juice on the severity of sickle cell anemia. J Altern Complement Med. 2013;19(6):588-92. PubMed
  11. Assarian Z, Nixon RL. Protein contact dermatitis caused by lime in a pastry chef. Contact Dermatitis. 2015;73(1):54-6. PubMed
  12. Bamise CT, Dinyain VE, Kolawole KA. Dental erosion due to lime consumption; review of literature and case report. East Afr J Public Health. 2009;6(2):141-3. PubMed
  13. Flugman SL. Mexican beer dermatitis: a unique variant of lime phytophotodermatitis attributable to contemporary beer-drinking practices. Arch Dermatol. 2010;146(10):1194-5. PubMed
  14. Galvañ-Pérez Del Pulgar JI, Linares-Barrios M, Galvañ-Pozo JI Jr. Acropigmentation of the dorsum of the hands from preparing mojitos: A lime-induced phytophotodermatosis. Actas Dermosifiliogr. 2016;107(3):253-5. DOI
  15. Hemmerling A, Potts M, Walsh J, Young-Holt B, Whaley K, Stefanski DA. Lime juice as a candidate microbicide? An open-label safety trial of 10% and 20% lime juice used vaginally. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2007;16(7):1041-51. 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 Lime and Chloroquine Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Lime with Chloroquine?
We do not list a known interaction between Lime and Chloroquine. 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 Lime and Chloroquine have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 3 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.
Are Lime and Chloroquine used for the same thing?
They overlap in purpose, which usually means the real question is whether you need both rather than whether they are safe together. This page lists the shared uses and how strong the evidence is for Lime in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Chloroquine is being adjusted to a target.
How was the Lime and Chloroquine combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Chloroquine is filed under 4 classifications, and Lime has documented interactions with 2 drug classes — none of Chloroquine'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 Lime interact with any other medications?
Yes. Lime has 886 documented drug interactions in our database — Chloroquine 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 Chloroquine interact with any supplements?
Yes. Chloroquine has documented interactions with 29 supplements in our database — Lime is not one of them. The Chloroquine 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

Lime monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Chloroquine drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Chloroquine supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Chloroquine, 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 20 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Chloroquine and Lime?

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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.