Drug & supplement interaction

Red Clover + Carbamazepine

Carbamazepine brand names: Tegretol, Tegretol XR, Equetro, Carbatrol, Carnexiv.

Minor Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated September 2026
The bottom line Minor

Red Clover has a minor interaction with Carbamazepine. Theoretically, red clover might increase levels of drugs metabolized by CYP3A4; however, a small clinical study found no effect.

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

Red Clover and Carbamazepine

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

Minor

CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES

Why this applies to Carbamazepine

Carbamazepine falls under CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES — the group Red Clover interacts with.

Theoretically, red clover might increase levels of drugs metabolized by CYP3A4; however, a small clinical study found no effect.
In vitro evidence shows that red clover might inhibit CYP3A4 isoenzymes. However, a clinical study in healthy postmenopausal individuals shows that taking red clover capsules standardized to contain 60 mg isoflavones twice daily for 14 days does not affect the pharmacokinetics of alprazolam, a CYP3A4 probe substrate.
Severity Minor Likelihood Unlikely Evidence B

Interaction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans..

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

Here's the gist for carbamazepine (Tegretol): your liver clears it partly through an enzyme called CYP3A4. In a test tube, red clover's plant estrogens look like they might slow that enzyme down a bit. If that actually happened in your body, carbamazepine could build up and you'd notice more of its usual side effects, things like dizziness, drowsiness, blurry or double vision, or unsteadiness.

The reassuring part: this is mostly theoretical. A small human study using red clover with another CYP3A4 drug found no real change, and this interaction is rated minor and unlikely. Still, carbamazepine is a sensitive medicine where blood levels matter, so before adding red clover, check with your pharmacist or doctor.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Budzinski JW, Foster BC, Vandenhoek S, Arnason JT. An in vitro evaluation of human cytochrome P450 3A4 inhibition by selected commercial herbal extracts and tinctures. Phytomedicine 2000;7:273-82. PubMed
  2. Unger M, Frank A. Simultaneous determination of the inhibitory potency of herbal extracts on the activity of six major cytochrome P450 enzymes using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and automated online extraction. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 2004;1 PubMed
  3. Chen L, Choi J, Leonard SW, et al. No Clinically Relevant Pharmacokinetic Interactions of a Red Clover Dietary Supplement with Cytochrome P450 Enzymes in Women. J Agric Food Chem. 2020;68(47):13929-13939. 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

Red Clover Also Interacts With Other Medications

Red Clover has 44 moderate, 822 minor known drug interactions in our database — the Carbamazepine one above is one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 44 Minor 822 No known interaction 1,964 (incl. Carbamazepine)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Red Clover

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Red Clover or Carbamazepine

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

This page covers Red Clover only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Carbamazepine page lists 284 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: 1,4-butanediol (major), Activated Charcoal (major), Asarabacca (major), Beer (major) and Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (ghb) (major).

By severity: 12 major · 235 moderate · 37 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Carbamazepine page

“Carbamazepine (Tegretol, Carbatrol, Equetro) only controls seizures and mood episodes when its blood level stays inside a tight window, and 284 supplement and herbal ingredients on file can disturb that balance, 12 of them rated major. Grapefruit can push carbamazepine levels up, St.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Carbamazepine interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 1,480 real supplement products containing Red Clover, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Red Clover. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Carbamazepine too, on top of Red Clover — 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 Red Clover and Carbamazepine 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 Red Clover
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Carbamazepine
Top 25%

#389 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 Red Clover

What is Red Clover?

Red Clover
  • Menopause symptoms (hot flashes)
  • High cholesterol
  • Bone health/osteoporosis
  • Skin and hair concerns
  • Women's health

Red clover is a plant rich in isoflavones (plant compounds with weak estrogen-like activity) that is most often used for menopause symptoms like hot flashes. The evidence is mixed and generally weak, with some studies showing modest benefit and others showing none. Because of its hormone-like effects, it's not for everyone—talk with your pharmacist or doctor before trying it, especially if you have a hormone-sensitive condition.

Read the full Red Clover monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Carbamazepine

What Is Carbamazepine Used For?

Brand names: Tegretol, Tegretol XR, Equetro, Carbatrol, Carnexiv

Carbamazepine is used to treat certain types of seizures — including partial seizures, generalized tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures, and mixed seizure patterns. It works best for those specific seizure types; it does not appear to control absence (petit mal) seizures.

It is also prescribed to relieve the intense facial pain of trigeminal neuralgia — a nerve condition that causes sudden, severe pain along the face. It is not a general painkiller and shouldn't be used for ordinary aches and pains.

See full Carbamazepine drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Red Clover

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

0Major
44Moderate
822Minor
1,963No known interaction
44 Moderate 822 Minor 1,963 No interaction
Moderate

44 interactions

Minor

822 interactions

Showing 60 of 822 minor interactions — see all 822 on the Red Clover page.

No interaction 1,963 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 1,963 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Red Clover list.

See the full Red Clover interactions page
See every supplement checked against Carbamazepine, ranked by severity
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

Keep exploring
Red Clover monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place Carbamazepine supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against Carbamazepine, ranked by severity Carbamazepine drug information › The full plain-English guide to this medication Supplement interaction checker › Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z › Every drug we've checked against herbs & supplements Ask a pharmacist › Free, personal answer from our licensed team
Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Red Clover and Carbamazepine Together: Common Questions

Can you take Red Clover with Carbamazepine?
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 Red Clover and Carbamazepine 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

Still Have a Question About Carbamazepine and Red Clover?

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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.