Drug & supplement interaction

Salacia + Cobicistat

Cobicistat brand name: Tybost.

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 Salacia and Cobicistat 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 Cobicistat 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.

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Interaction report

Salacia and Cobicistat

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 Cobicistat and Salacia 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.

Salacia safety at a glance

Salacia overall Use caution Generally seems well tolerated short-term, but long-term safety is not well studied.
Pregnancy Avoid Not enough safety data, so it is best avoided during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Avoid No reliable safety information, so avoid while breastfeeding.

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

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

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Cobicistat

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Cobicistat is filed under 2 classifications — cytochrome p450 3a4 (cyp3a4) inhibitors, oral drugs. Salacia has documented interactions with 1 drug class — the most serious being antidiabetes drugs (moderate) — and none of Cobicistat’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

Salacia Does Interact With Other Medications

Salacia has 86 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Cobicistat isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 86 No known interaction 2,744 (incl. Cobicistat)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Salacia

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Salacia and Cobicistat 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.

  • Stomach pain / Diarrhea / Nausea Additional detail

    Salacia

    “Orally, salacia can cause flatulence, distention, belching, abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea. These side effects seem to be dose-dependent. Drinking salacia tea can cause dyspepsia and loose stools. These gastrointestinal side effects are due to the fermentation of undigested carbohydrates in the bowel.”

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

    4 sources cited
    1. 13032. Heacock PM, Hertzler SR, Williams JA, Wolf BW. Effects of a medical food containing an herbal alpha-glucosidase inhibitor on postprandial glycemia and insulinemia in healthy adults. J Am Diet Assoc 2005;105:65-71.
    2. 13507. Collene AL, Hertzler SR, Williams JA, Wolf BW. Effects of a nutritional supplement containing Salacia oblonga extract and insulinogenic amino acids on postprandial glycemia, insulinemia, and breath hydrogen responses in healthy adults. Nutrition 2005;21:8 PubMed
    3. 15572. Williams JA, Choe YS, Noss MJ, et al. Extract of Salacia oblonga lowers acute glycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;86:124-30. PubMed
    4. 13508. Jayawardena MH, de Alwis NM, Hettigoda V, Fernando DJ. A double blind randomised placebo controlled cross over study of a herbal preparation containing Salacia reticulata in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. J Ethnopharmacol 2005;97:215-8. PubMed

    Cobicistat

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

Reported for Salacia but not commonly for Cobicistat: bloating or gas and stomach upset.

Effects for Cobicistat come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Salacia come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 20,779 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Cobicistat 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.

How to take them

Some Cobicistat Products Have a Food Rule — Salacia Should Not Break It

At least one FDA label for a product containing Cobicistat says to take it with food. If you take Salacia on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate — and take Cobicistat 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 Cobicistat 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.

2 DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION TYBOST must be coadministered with atazanavir or darunavir at the same time, with food, and in combination with other HIV-1 antiretroviral agents.

From the Dosage and Administration section of the FDA label we read for Cobicistat — 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.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Cobicistat

This page covers Salacia only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Cobicistat page lists 30 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Adrafinil (moderate), Cannabidiol (cbd) (moderate), Cannabinol (cbn) (moderate) and Cannabis (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 19 moderate · 10 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Cobicistat page

“Activated charcoal is the one entry to understand first if you take cobicistat (Tybost). Charcoal soaks up drugs in the gut, and since cobicistat's entire job is boosting an HIV medicine to protective levels, blunting its absorption can put the whole regimen at risk.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Cobicistat interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 34 real supplement products containing Salacia, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Salacia. Even though Salacia itself has no known interaction with Cobicistat, 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 Salacia and Cobicistat 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 Salacia
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Cobicistat
Steady interest

#1,515 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 Salacia reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Salacia and Cobicistat 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 Salacia

What is Salacia?

Salacia
  • Blood sugar control
  • Type 2 diabetes support
  • Weight management
  • Obesity
  • Traditional Ayurvedic remedy

Salacia is a plant used in Ayurvedic medicine, mostly studied for lowering blood sugar after meals. Some small human studies suggest it may modestly blunt blood sugar spikes, but the evidence is limited and far from conclusive. If you have diabetes or take other medicines, talk with your pharmacist or doctor before using it.

Salacia oblonga · Celastraceae · Root and stem (root bark and wood) · Capsules, tablets, powders, standardized extracts, teas

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

Salacia: dosing

There is no official, well-established standard dose for Salacia. Studies have used different plant species, different extracts, and different amounts, which makes it hard to give one reliable recommendation.If you choose to use a Salacia product, follow the directions on the label and do not exceed the suggested amount.

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

Read the full Salacia monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Cobicistat

What Is Cobicistat Used For?

Brand name: Tybost

Tybost (cobicistat) is not itself an HIV treatment — it works by slowing the breakdown of certain HIV medicines so they stay active in your body long enough to work. Specifically, Tybost is used to boost the HIV medicines atazanavir or darunavir (once-daily dosing) as part of a complete HIV-1 treatment regimen in adults and in children weighing at least 14 kg (about 31 lbs).

Tybost is not interchangeable with ritonavir (another booster) for all HIV medicines. It is not recommended with darunavir twice-daily, fosamprenavir, saquinavir, or tipranavir.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Cobicistat

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (20,779 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Bone density decreased 8,112 reports
Chronic kidney disease 4,754 reports
Renal injury 4,577 reports
Tooth loss 4,186 reports
Bone loss 4,107 reports
See full Cobicistat drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Salacia

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

0Major
86Moderate
0Minor
2,743No known interaction
86 Moderate 2,743 No interaction
Moderate

86 interactions

Showing 60 of 86 moderate interactions — see all 86 on the Salacia page.

No interaction 2,743 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,743 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Salacia list.

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

Salacia References

The 5 references that drive our Salacia 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. Heacock PM, Hertzler SR, Williams JA, Wolf BW. Effects of a medical food containing an herbal alpha-glucosidase inhibitor on postprandial glycemia and insulinemia in healthy adults. J Am Diet Assoc 2005;105:65-71.
  2. Collene AL, Hertzler SR, Williams JA, Wolf BW. Effects of a nutritional supplement containing Salacia oblonga extract and insulinogenic amino acids on postprandial glycemia, insulinemia, and breath hydrogen responses in healthy adults. Nutrition 2005;21:8 PubMed
  3. Jayawardena MH, de Alwis NM, Hettigoda V, Fernando DJ. A double blind randomised placebo controlled cross over study of a herbal preparation containing Salacia reticulata in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. J Ethnopharmacol 2005;97:215-8. PubMed
  4. Williams JA, Choe YS, Noss MJ, et al. Extract of Salacia oblonga lowers acute glycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;86:124-30. PubMed
  5. Kajimoto O, Kawamori S, Shimoda H, et al. Effects of a Diet Containing Salacia reticulata on Mild Type 2 Diabetes in Humans. A Placebo-controlled, Cross-over Trial. Nippon Eiyo Shokuryo Gakkaishi 2000;53(5):199-205. DOI

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 Salacia and Cobicistat Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Salacia with Cobicistat?
We do not list a known interaction between Salacia and Cobicistat. 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 Salacia and Cobicistat 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.
Should I take Salacia and Cobicistat at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Cobicistat says to take it with food. If you take Salacia on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate and take Cobicistat with a meal where the label says to. Food instructions belong to the product rather than the ingredient — two Cobicistat products can differ — so check the directions on your own box. This is about absorption, not an interaction.
How was the Salacia and Cobicistat combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Cobicistat is filed under 2 classifications, and Salacia has documented interactions with 1 drug class — none of Cobicistat'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 Salacia interact with any other medications?
Yes. Salacia has 86 documented drug interactions in our database — Cobicistat 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 Cobicistat interact with any supplements?
Yes. Cobicistat has documented interactions with 30 supplements in our database — Salacia is not one of them. The Cobicistat 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

Salacia monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Cobicistat drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Cobicistat supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Cobicistat, 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 5 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Cobicistat and Salacia?

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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.