Drug & supplement interaction

Sweet Annie + Losartan Potassium

Losartan Potassium brand name: Cozaar.

Moderate Interaction
The bottom line Moderate

Sweet Annie has a moderate interaction with Losartan Potassium. Sweet Annie may alter plasma levels and clinical effects of drugs metabolized by CYP3A4.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityModerate
LikelihoodPossible
EvidenceD
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Sweet Annie and Losartan Potassium

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

Moderate

CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES

Why this applies to Losartan Potassium

Losartan Potassium falls under CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES — the group Sweet Annie interacts with.

Sweet Annie may alter plasma levels and clinical effects of drugs metabolized by CYP3A4.
In vitro research shows that the Sweet Annie constituent artemisinin induces CYP3A4, possibly increasing CYP3A4 activity by 1.9-fold. However, Sweet Annie extract seems to inhibit the activity of CYP3A4 in vitro, suggesting that other constituents of Sweet Annie play a role in its effects on the overall activity of this enzyme. More information is needed to determine whether taking Sweet Annie extract affects the metabolism of CYP3A4 substrates.
Severity Moderate Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Interaction 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.

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

Here's the wrinkle with losartan: it's actually a prodrug. Your liver uses an enzyme (mostly CYP2C9, with some CYP3A4 help) to convert it into its more powerful active form, which does most of the blood-pressure-lowering work. So changes to those enzymes can shift how well it works, not just how much builds up.

The lab data on Sweet Annie are genuinely mixed. One compound in it (artemisinin) may speed up CYP3A4, which could mean a bit less active losartan and slightly weaker blood pressure control. But the whole-plant extract seemed to slow the same enzyme, so the real-world effect is unclear. This is only test-tube evidence, so I wouldn't lose sleep over it. Still, check with your pharmacist before combining them, and keep an eye on your blood pressure readings.

References
  1. Xing J, Kirby BJ, Whittington D, et al. Evaluation of P450 inhibition and induction by artemisinin antimalarials in human liver microsomes and primary human hepatocytes. Drug Metabl Dispos 2012;40(9):1757-64. PubMed
  2. Kane NF, Kiani BH, Desrosiers MR, Towler MJ, Weathers PJ. Artemisia extracts differ from artemisinin effects on human hepatic CYP450s 2B6 and 3A4 in vitro. J Ethnopharmacol 2022. DOI

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

Sweet Annie Also Interacts With Other Medications

Sweet Annie has 888 moderate known drug interactions in our database — the Losartan Potassium one above is one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Sweet Annie

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Sweet Annie or Losartan Potassium

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

This page covers Sweet Annie only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Losartan Potassium page lists 253 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), American Hellebore (major), American Mistletoe (major), Grapefruit (major) and St. John's Wort (major).

By severity: 6 major · 205 moderate · 42 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Losartan Potassium page

“Losartan potassium (Cozaar) treats high blood pressure, and this is a list to respect, because six of its 253 supplement interactions carry a major rating. Most entries do one of two things.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Losartan Potassium interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 243 real supplement products containing Sweet Annie, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Sweet Annie. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Losartan Potassium too, on top of Sweet Annie — 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 Sweet Annie and Losartan Potassium 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 Sweet Annie
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Losartan Potassium
Top 1%

#15 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 Sweet Annie

What is Sweet Annie?

Sweet Annie
  • Malaria (traditional)
  • Fever
  • Inflammation
  • Digestive complaints
  • Antimicrobial support
  • Insect repellent

Sweet Annie (Artemisia annua) is the source of artemisinin, a compound used in prescription antimalarial drugs. While the purified drug is well studied for malaria, the herb itself as a supplement is not proven for the wide range of conditions people use it for, and self-treating malaria with the raw herb is dangerous. Talk to a pharmacist or doctor before using it.

Read the full Sweet Annie monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Losartan

What Is Losartan Used For?

Brand name: Cozaar

Losartan treats high blood pressure (hypertension) in adults and children 6 years and older. Keeping blood pressure under control lowers the risk of serious events like stroke and heart attack.

It is also used to reduce the risk of stroke in people who have high blood pressure and left ventricular hypertrophy (an enlarged heart muscle). Note: evidence suggests this stroke-risk benefit may not apply to Black patients. Additionally, losartan treats diabetic nephropathy — kidney damage caused by type 2 diabetes — in people who also have high blood pressure.

See full Losartan drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Sweet Annie

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

0Major
888Moderate
0Minor
1,941No known interaction
Moderate

888 interactions

Showing 60 of 888 moderate interactions — see all 888 on the Sweet Annie page.

No interaction 1,941 drugs checked — show the list
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

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Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Sweet Annie and Losartan Potassium Together: Common Questions

Can you take Sweet Annie with Losartan Potassium?
There is a moderate interaction, so it may be acceptable with monitoring or timing changes — but check with your pharmacist first. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
How serious is the Sweet Annie and Losartan Potassium interaction?
We rate it Moderate. This combination may require monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separating the times you take each one. Consult your pharmacist before using them together.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

Still Have a Question About Losartan Potassium and Sweet Annie?

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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.