Drug & supplement interaction

Tangerine + Cephalexin

Cephalexin brand names: Keflex, Keftab, Cephalex, Lexin.

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 Tangerine and Cephalexin 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.

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Interaction report

Tangerine and Cephalexin

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 Cephalexin and Tangerine 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.

Tangerine safety at a glance

Tangerine overall Generally safe Tangerine fruit is generally safe when eaten as food.
Pregnancy Use caution The fruit is fine as food, but concentrated extracts and essential oil should be used with caution and medical advice.
Breastfeeding Use caution Eating the fruit is fine, but safety of concentrated supplements or oils is not well studied.

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

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

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Cephalexin

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Cephalexin is filed under 7 classifications — including organic anion transporter 3 (oat3) substrates, organic anion transporter 1 (oat1) substrates, antibiotic drugs. Tangerine has documented interactions with 2 drug classes — the most serious being cytochrome p450 3a4 (cyp3a4) substrates (minor) and midazolam (versed) (minor) — and none of Cephalexin’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

Tangerine Does Interact With Other Medications

Tangerine has 643 minor known drug interactions in our database — Cephalexin isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Minor 643 No known interaction 2,187 (incl. Cephalexin)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Tangerine

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

What to actually watch for

What Tangerine Itself Has Been Linked To

This is not an interaction — nothing below involves Cephalexin. It is the side-effect record for Tangerine on its own, from the licensed Natural Medicines monograph. If something new turns up after you add Tangerine, this list is the first place to look.

  • A skin rash Additional detail

    “Orally, very few adverse effects have been reported with the medicinal use of tangerine. However, a thorough evaluation of safety outcomes has not been conducted.

    Topically, contact dermatitis has been associated with tangerine essential oil.”

    Tangerine · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in dermatitis.

    1 source cited
    1. 28610. Vilaplana, J. and Romaguera, C. Contact dermatitis from the essential oil of tangerine in fragrance. Contact Dermatitis 2002;46(2):108. PubMed

    “According to one case report, the essential oil of tangerine in a fragrance has been associated with contact dermatitis.”

    Tangerine · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in dermatitis.

    1 source cited
    1. 28610. Vilaplana, J. and Romaguera, C. Contact dermatitis from the essential oil of tangerine in fragrance. Contact Dermatitis 2002;46(2):108. PubMed

Everything above comes from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record for Tangerine — expand a row for the licensed statement it rests on. We read the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of Cephalexin’s FDA label too, and the two lists don’t meaningfully overlap — which is why no Cephalexin column appears here.

From our Q&A

Questions About Tangerine or Cephalexin

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

This page covers Tangerine only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Cephalexin page lists 61 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Asarabacca (major), Siberian Cocklebur (major), African Wild Potato (moderate) and Aristolochia (moderate).

By severity: 3 major · 47 moderate · 11 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Cephalexin page

“Cephalexin (Keflex) is one of the most commonly prescribed oral antibiotics, usually for skin and urinary infections, and its supplement list warrants genuine care rather than a quick skim. Three of the 61 ingredients on file rate major.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Cephalexin interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 705 real supplement products containing Tangerine, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Tangerine. Even though Tangerine itself has no known interaction with Cephalexin, 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 Tangerine and Cephalexin 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 Tangerine
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Cephalexin
Top 5%

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

What is Tangerine?

  • Source of vitamin C
  • Digestive support
  • Aromatherapy and relaxation
  • Cough and phlegm (traditional)
  • Skin and flavoring uses

Tangerine is a sweet citrus fruit that is a good source of vitamin C and other nutrients, and is widely enjoyed as food. While the peel and essential oil are used in traditional medicine and aromatherapy, strong human evidence for specific health benefits beyond basic nutrition is limited. Enjoying tangerines as part of a balanced diet is generally safe for most people.

Citrus reticulata · Rutaceae · Fruit, peel, and essential oil · Fresh fruit, juice, dried peel, essential oil, capsules, extracts

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

Tangerine: dosing

There is no official or standardized medicinal dose for tangerine. As a food, you can simply enjoy it the way you would any fruit.For peel, extracts, essential oil, or capsule products, there is no established dose proven safe and effective for any condition. Essential oils are for external or aromatherapy use only unless a professional advises otherwise.

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

Read the full Tangerine monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Cephalexin

What Is Cephalexin Used For?

Brand names: Keflex, Keftab, Cephalex, Lexin

Cephalexin treats bacterial infections caused by susceptible strains of bacteria. It is used for respiratory tract infections, ear infections (otitis media), skin and skin structure infections, bone infections, and genitourinary tract infections — including acute prostatitis.

It works only against bacterial infections — not viruses like colds or flu. Your prescriber should use it only when a bacterial infection is confirmed or strongly suspected, to help prevent antibiotic resistance.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Cephalexin

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (0 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Chronic kidney disease 2,157 reports
Renal failure 1,558 reports
Acute kidney injury 1,550 reports
Diarrhea 1,405 reports
Fatigue 1,303 reports
See full Cephalexin drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Tangerine

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

0Major
0Moderate
643Minor
2,186No known interaction
643 Minor 2,186 No interaction
Minor

643 interactions

Showing 60 of 643 minor interactions — see all 643 on the Tangerine page.

No interaction 2,186 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,186 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Tangerine list.

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

Tangerine References

The 3 references that drive our Tangerine 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. Yuan, J. M., Wang, X. L., Xiang, Y. B., Gao, Y. T., Ross, R. K., and Yu, M. C. Preserved foods in relation to risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Shanghai, China. Int J Cancer 2000;85(3):358-363. DOI
  2. Backman, J. T., Maenpaa, J., Belle, D. J., Wrighton, S. A., Kivisto, K. T., and Neuvonen, P. J. Lack of correlation between in vitro and in vivo studies on the effects of tangeretin and tangerine juice on midazolam hydroxylation. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2000; PubMed
  3. Vilaplana, J. and Romaguera, C. Contact dermatitis from the essential oil of tangerine in fragrance. Contact Dermatitis 2002;46(2):108. 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 Tangerine and Cephalexin Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Tangerine with Cephalexin?
We do not list a known interaction between Tangerine and Cephalexin. 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.
How was the Tangerine and Cephalexin combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Cephalexin is filed under 7 classifications, and Tangerine has documented interactions with 2 drug classes — none of Cephalexin'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 Tangerine interact with any other medications?
Yes. Tangerine has 643 documented drug interactions in our database — Cephalexin 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 Cephalexin interact with any supplements?
Yes. Cephalexin has documented interactions with 61 supplements in our database — Tangerine is not one of them. The Cephalexin 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

Tangerine monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Cephalexin drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Cephalexin supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Cephalexin, 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 3 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Cephalexin and Tangerine?

Our pharmacists answer your medication & supplement questions — free.

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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.