Drug & supplement interaction

Stevia + Methotrexate

Methotrexate brand names: Rheumatrex, Otrexup, Rasuvo, Reditrex.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Stevia and Methotrexate 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

Stevia and Methotrexate

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 Methotrexate and Stevia 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.

Stevia safety at a glance

Stevia overall Generally safe Purified stevia sweeteners are generally recognized as safe in typical food amounts.
Pregnancy Use caution Purified stevia in food amounts is likely acceptable, but whole-leaf or supplement doses are not well studied, so use caution.
Breastfeeding Use caution Food amounts of purified stevia are probably fine, but high-dose supplements lack safety data, so use caution.

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

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

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Methotrexate

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Methotrexate is filed under 6 classifications — including organic anion-transporting polypeptide substrates (oatp), organic anion transporter 3 (oat3) substrates, hepatotoxic drugs. Stevia has documented interactions with 3 drug classes — the most serious being lithium (moderate), antidiabetes drugs (minor) and antihypertensive drugs (minor) — and none of Methotrexate’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

Stevia Does Interact With Other Medications

Stevia has 1 moderate, 258 minor known drug interactions in our database — Methotrexate 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 Stevia

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Stevia and Methotrexate 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.

  • Muscle pain Additional detail

    Stevia

    “Orally, stevia and steviol glycosides may cause myalgia, but this generally resolves after the first week of use.”

    Stevia · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in myalgia.

    2 sources cited
    1. 11809. Hsieh MH, Chan P, Sue YM, et al. Efficacy and tolerability of oral stevioside in patients with mild essential hypertension: a two-year, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Clin Ther 2003;25:2797-808. PubMed
    2. 11810. Chan P, Tomlinson B, Chen YJ, et al. A double-blind placebo-controlled study of the effectiveness and tolerability of oral stevioside in human hypertension. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2000;50:215-20. PubMed

    Methotrexate

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

  • Dizziness / Headache Additional detail

    Stevia

    “Orally, stevia and steviol glycosides may cause headache, dizziness, and numbness.”

    Stevia · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in cluster headache.

    2 sources cited
    1. 11809. Hsieh MH, Chan P, Sue YM, et al. Efficacy and tolerability of oral stevioside in patients with mild essential hypertension: a two-year, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Clin Ther 2003;25:2797-808. PubMed
    2. 11810. Chan P, Tomlinson B, Chen YJ, et al. A double-blind placebo-controlled study of the effectiveness and tolerability of oral stevioside in human hypertension. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2000;50:215-20. PubMed

    Methotrexate

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

  • Nausea reported in 5.9% of FDA reports for Methotrexate Additional detail

    Stevia

    “Orally, stevia and steviol glycosides such as stevioside, can cause gastrointestinal adverse effects such as abdominal fullness and nausea. However, these generally resolve after the first week of use.”

    Stevia · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in nausea and vomiting.

    3 sources cited
    1. 11809. Hsieh MH, Chan P, Sue YM, et al. Efficacy and tolerability of oral stevioside in patients with mild essential hypertension: a two-year, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Clin Ther 2003;25:2797-808. PubMed
    2. 11810. Chan P, Tomlinson B, Chen YJ, et al. A double-blind placebo-controlled study of the effectiveness and tolerability of oral stevioside in human hypertension. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2000;50:215-20. PubMed
    3. 113005. Almiron-Roig E, Navas-Carretero S, Castelnuovo G, et al. Impact of acute consumption of beverages containing plant-based or alternative sweetener blends on postprandial appetite, food intake, metabolism, and gastro-intestinal symptoms: Results of the SWEE

    Methotrexate

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Methotrexate, and in voluntary FDA adverse-event reports. Read the label on DailyMed ›

Reported for Stevia but not commonly for Methotrexate: an allergic reaction, bloating or gas and numbness or tingling.

Effects for Methotrexate come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Stevia come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 489,806 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Methotrexate 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 Stevia or Methotrexate

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

This page covers Stevia only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Methotrexate page lists 82 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: 7 major · 60 moderate · 15 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Methotrexate page

“The liver is where methotrexate and supplements clash most. Methotrexate (Rheumatrex, Otrexup, Rasuvo), used for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and certain cancers, can strain the liver on its own, and 38 of the 82 interacting ingredients on this list add liver risk of their own, alcohol included, which makes this a list to approach…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Methotrexate interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 1,899 real supplement products containing Stevia, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Stevia. Even though Stevia itself has no known interaction with Methotrexate, 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 Stevia and Methotrexate 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 Stevia
Top 10%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Methotrexate
Top 5%

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

What is Stevia?

  • Sugar substitute / sweetener
  • Blood sugar support in diabetes
  • Weight management
  • Blood pressure support
  • Reducing calorie intake

Stevia is a plant-based, calorie-free sweetener that is widely used as a sugar alternative and is considered safe in normal food amounts by major regulators. Purified stevia extracts have a good safety record, but evidence for medicinal benefits like lowering blood sugar or blood pressure is limited. Talk to your pharmacist or doctor before using stevia supplements for any health condition.

Stevia rebaudiana · Asteraceae · Leaves · Powder, liquid drops, tablets, granules, tea, and purified extracts (such as rebaudioside A and stevioside)

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

Stevia: dosing

There is no standard medicinal dose of stevia. As a sweetener, the right amount is simply enough to reach the sweetness you like, and a little goes a long way because it is much sweeter than sugar.For tabletop and food products, follow the directions on the label and stay within the recommended daily intake.

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

Read the full Stevia monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Methotrexate

What Is Methotrexate Used For?

Brand names: Rheumatrex, Otrexup, Rasuvo, Reditrex

Methotrexate treats a wide range of serious conditions. In cancer care, it is used for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, osteosarcoma, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, and gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (a rare tumor related to pregnancy). It is also used to prevent and treat meningeal leukemia (cancer affecting the lining of the brain and spinal cord).

Outside of cancer, methotrexate is prescribed for adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), children with polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (a form of childhood arthritis), and adults with severe psoriasis that hasn't responded well to other treatments.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Methotrexate

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (489,806 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Rheumatoid arthritis 42,798 reports
Arthralgia 40,830 reports
Fatigue 33,049 reports
Nausea 28,999 reports
Joint swelling 25,026 reports
See full Methotrexate drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Stevia

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

0Major
1Moderate
258Minor
2,570No known interaction
Moderate

1 interaction

Minor

258 interactions

Showing 60 of 258 minor interactions — see all 258 on the Stevia page.

No interaction 2,570 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Stevia References

The 10 references that drive our Stevia 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. Chan P, Xu DY, Liu JC, et al. The effect of stevioside on blood pressure and plasma catecholamines in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Life Sci 1998;63:1679-84. PubMed
  2. Melis MS. A crude extract of Stevia rebaudiana increases the renal plasma flow of normal and hypertensive rats. Braz J Med Biol Res 1996;29:669-75.
  3. Melis MS. Chronic administration of aqueous extract of Stevia rebaudiana in rats: renal effects. J Ethnopharmacol 1995;47:129-34. PubMed
  4. Melis MS, Sainati AR. Effect of calcium and verapamil on renal function of rats during treatment with stevioside. J Ethnopharmacol 1991;33:257-622. PubMed
  5. Hsieh MH, Chan P, Sue YM, et al. Efficacy and tolerability of oral stevioside in patients with mild essential hypertension: a two-year, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Clin Ther 2003;25:2797-808. PubMed
  6. Chan P, Tomlinson B, Chen YJ, et al. A double-blind placebo-controlled study of the effectiveness and tolerability of oral stevioside in human hypertension. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2000;50:215-20. PubMed
  7. Gregersen S, Jeppesen PB, Holst JJ, Hermansen K. Antihyperglycemic effects of stevioside in type 2 diabetic subjects. Metabolism 2004;53:73-6. PubMed
  8. Barriocanal LA, Palacios M, Benitez G, et al. Apparent lack of pharmacological effect of steviol glycosides used as sweeteners in humans. A pilot study of repeated exposures in some normotensive and hypotensive individuals and in Type 1 and Type 2 diabeti
  9. Ferri LA, Alves-Do-Prado W, Yamada SS, et al. Investigation of the antihypertensive effect of oral crude stevioside in patients with mild essential hypertension. Phytother Res 2006;20:732-6. PubMed
  10. Almiron-Roig E, Navas-Carretero S, Castelnuovo G, et al. Impact of acute consumption of beverages containing plant-based or alternative sweetener blends on postprandial appetite, food intake, metabolism, and gastro-intestinal symptoms: Results of the SWEE

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 Stevia and Methotrexate Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Stevia with Methotrexate?
We do not list a known interaction between Stevia and Methotrexate. 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 Stevia and Methotrexate have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 4 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 Stevia and Methotrexate combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Methotrexate is filed under 6 classifications, and Stevia has documented interactions with 3 drug classes — none of Methotrexate'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 Stevia interact with any other medications?
Yes. Stevia has 259 documented drug interactions in our database — Methotrexate 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 Methotrexate interact with any supplements?
Yes. Methotrexate has documented interactions with 82 supplements in our database — Stevia is not one of them. The Methotrexate 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 Methotrexate and Stevia?

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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.