Drug & supplement interaction

Pinellia Ternata + Simvastatin

Simvastatin brand name: Zocor.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Pinellia Ternata and Simvastatin 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.

Know someone taking this? Share
Interaction report

Pinellia Ternata and Simvastatin

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 Simvastatin and Pinellia Ternata 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.

Pinellia Ternata safety at a glance

Pinellia Ternata overall Use caution Raw Pinellia is toxic and irritating; only properly processed material used under professional guidance should be considered.
Pregnancy Avoid Traditionally cautioned against and lacking safety data, so it should be avoided in pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Avoid There is not enough safety information, so avoid use while breastfeeding.

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

Still wondering about combining Simvastatin and Pinellia Ternata? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Simvastatin

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Simvastatin is filed under 8 classifications — including hmg-coa reductase inhibitors ("statins"), organic anion-transporting polypeptide substrates (oatp), glucuronidated drugs. Pinellia Ternata has documented interactions with 3 drug classes — the most serious being barbiturates (moderate), benzodiazepines (moderate) and cns depressants (moderate) — and none of Simvastatin’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

Pinellia Ternata Does Interact With Other Medications

Pinellia Ternata has 256 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Simvastatin 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 Pinellia Ternata

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Pinellia Ternata and Simvastatin May Share a Side Effect

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.

  • A heart attack Worth acting on Additional detail

    Pinellia Ternata

    “Pinellia ternata contains ephedrine alkaloids, which may potentially cause hypertension, tachycardia, and heart attack when used orally.”

    Pinellia Ternata · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in cardiac arrest.

    1 source cited
    1. 12147. FDA, HHS. Final rule declaring dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids adulterated because they present an unreasonable risk. Fed Regist 2004;69:6787-6854.

    Simvastatin

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

Reported for Pinellia Ternata but not commonly for Simvastatin: raised blood pressure, a fast or pounding heartbeat, seizures and wheezing.

Effects for Simvastatin come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Pinellia Ternata come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 261,345 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Simvastatin that mention that effect — a reporting proportion, not an incidence rate and not evidence the drug caused it. Wording is matched across sources by our own clinical vocabulary, so treat this as a prompt to pay attention, not a diagnosis.

From our Q&A

Questions About Pinellia Ternata or Simvastatin

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

This page covers Pinellia Ternata only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Simvastatin page lists 183 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Apple (major), Beer (major), Grapefruit (major) and Siberian Cocklebur (major).

By severity: 8 major · 139 moderate · 36 minor.

Open the Simvastatin interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 20 real supplement products containing Pinellia Ternata, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Pinellia Ternata. Even though Pinellia Ternata itself has no known interaction with Simvastatin, 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 Pinellia Ternata and Simvastatin 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 Pinellia Ternata
Steady interest

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

29 days ago today
Medication Simvastatin
Top 25%

#573 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 Pinellia Ternata reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Pinellia Ternata and Simvastatin 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 Pinellia Ternata

What is Pinellia Ternata?

  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Cough with phlegm
  • Morning sickness (traditional use)
  • Digestive upset and bloating
  • Throat discomfort

Pinellia ternata is a tuber used in traditional Chinese medicine, most often for nausea, vomiting, and phlegmy coughs, and almost always as part of multi-herb formulas. The raw plant is toxic and must be specially processed before use, so it should only be used under qualified guidance. Solid human evidence is limited, and it should be avoided in pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Pinellia ternata · Araceae · Dried tuber (rhizome), usually processed before use · Dried processed tuber, powder, granules, decoctions (teas), and part of multi-herb traditional formulas

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

Pinellia Ternata: dosing

There is no well-established standardized dose of Pinellia ternata for supplement users. In traditional Chinese medicine it is given as processed tuber within specific multi-herb formulas, with the amount and preparation chosen by a trained practitioner.Because the raw herb is toxic and product quality varies, you should not try to dose this herb on your own. If you use a product, follow the label exactly and ideally work with a qualified practitioner.

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

Read the full Pinellia Ternata monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Simvastatin

What Is Simvastatin Used For?

Brand name: Zocor

Simvastatin tablets are used alongside a cholesterol-lowering diet to treat high LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol), high triglycerides, and certain inherited cholesterol disorders, including heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) in adults and children aged 10 and older, and homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) in adults.

In adults who already have coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, or diabetes and are at high risk for heart events, simvastatin is also used to reduce the risk of death from heart disease, non-fatal heart attack, stroke, and the need for procedures to open blocked arteries. Zocor is one brand-name product containing simvastatin and carries these same indications.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Simvastatin

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (263,006 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Fatigue 14,524 reports
Nausea 14,119 reports
Dyspnea 13,226 reports
Diarrhea 12,591 reports
Dizziness 11,830 reports
See full Simvastatin drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Pinellia Ternata

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

0Major
256Moderate
0Minor
2,573No known interaction
Moderate

256 interactions

Showing 60 of 256 moderate interactions — see all 256 on the Pinellia Ternata page.

No interaction 2,573 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Pinellia Ternata References

The 4 references that drive our Pinellia Ternata 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. Kim SH, Jeong H, Kim YK, et al. IgE-mediated occupational asthma induced by herbal medicine, Bahna (Pinellia ternata). Clin Exp Allergy 2000;31:779-81.
  2. FDA, HHS. Final rule declaring dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids adulterated because they present an unreasonable risk. Fed Regist 2004;69:6787-6854.
  3. Lin S, Nie B, Yao G, Yang H, Ye R, Yuan Z. Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) makino preparation promotes sleep by increasing REM sleep. Nat Prod Res. 2019;33(22):3326-3329. PubMed
  4. Lin YH, Chen C, Zhao X, et al. Efficacy and Safety of Banxia Formulae for Insomnia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of High-Quality Randomized Controlled Trials. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2021;2021:8833168. 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 Pinellia Ternata and Simvastatin Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Pinellia Ternata with Simvastatin?
We do not list a known interaction between Pinellia Ternata and Simvastatin. 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 Pinellia Ternata and Simvastatin have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to one 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.
How was the Pinellia Ternata and Simvastatin combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Simvastatin is filed under 8 classifications, and Pinellia Ternata has documented interactions with 3 drug classes — none of Simvastatin'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 Pinellia Ternata interact with any other medications?
Yes. Pinellia Ternata has 256 documented drug interactions in our database — Simvastatin 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 Simvastatin interact with any supplements?
Yes. Simvastatin has documented interactions with 183 supplements in our database — Pinellia Ternata is not one of them. The Simvastatin 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 Simvastatin and Pinellia Ternata?

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.