Drug & supplement interaction

Thuja + Salmeterol

Salmeterol brand name: Serevent.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Thuja and Salmeterol 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 Salmeterol 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

Thuja and Salmeterol

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 Salmeterol and Thuja 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.

Thuja safety at a glance

Thuja overall Use caution The plant and especially its essential oil contain thujone, which can be toxic if taken internally in large amounts.
Pregnancy Likely Unsafe When used orally due to abortifacient activity; avoid using. Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Likely Unsafe When used orally due to toxicity; avoid using. Read the full breastfeeding detail

Pregnancy & breastfeeding ratings are from Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center) — the full detail is in the Special populations card below. Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

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

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Salmeterol

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Salmeterol is filed under 3 classifications — beta-adrenergic agonists, qt interval-prolonging drugs, cytochrome p450 3a4 (cyp3a4) substrates. Thuja has documented interactions with 3 drug classes — the most serious being anticonvulsants (moderate), immunosuppressants (moderate) and seizure threshold lowering drugs (moderate) — and none of Salmeterol’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

Thuja Does Interact With Other Medications

Thuja has 576 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Salmeterol 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 Thuja

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Thuja and Salmeterol May Share a Side Effect

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.

  • Headache Additional detail

    Thuja

    “Orally, large doses of thuja have been reported to cause toxicity involving headache, nervous agitation, seizures, gastric irritation, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Thuja toxicity has also been reported to cause liver damage, renal toxicity, and death in some cases.”

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

    2 sources cited
    1. 6002. Fetrow CW, Avila JR. Professional's Handbook of Complementary & Alternative Medicines. 1st ed. Springhouse, PA: Springhouse Corp., 1999.
    2. 40888. Naser, B., Bodinet, C., Tegtmeier, M., and Lindequist, U. Thuja occidentalis (Arbor vitae): A Review of its Pharmaceutical, Pharmacological and Clinical Properties. Evid.Based Complement Alternat.Med 2005;2(1):69-78.

    Salmeterol

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

Reported for Thuja but not commonly for Salmeterol: stomach upset, stomach pain, kidney problems and liver problems.

Effects for Salmeterol come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Thuja come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 107,431 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Salmeterol 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.

Special populations

Thuja in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy Likely Unsafe

When used orally due to abortifacient activity; avoid using.

Lactation Likely Unsafe

When used orally due to toxicity; avoid using.

DISCLAIMER: This tool is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be interpreted as specific medical advice. Patients should consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about therapies and/or health conditions.© 2026 Therapeutic Research Center

How to take them

Some Salmeterol Products Have a Food Rule — Thuja Should Not Break It

At least one FDA label for a product containing Salmeterol says to take it on an empty stomach. Most supplements — Thuja included — are taken with a meal, so the easy mistake is swallowing both together at breakfast. Where that rule applies, keep Salmeterol on its own and move Thuja to a meal later in the day.

This may not be true of your version. Food instructions belong to the product, not the ingredient: two Salmeterol 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.

One inhalation of SEREVENT DISKUS at least 30 minutes before exercise has been shown to protect patients against EIB.

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

This page covers Thuja only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Salmeterol page lists 141 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: American Hellebore (major), Arsenic (major), Cesium (major), Ephedra (major) and Grapefruit (major).

By severity: 7 major · 105 moderate · 29 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Salmeterol page

“Salmeterol (Serevent) is the long-acting inhaler taken twice daily for asthma or COPD, and its supplement list is one I would approach with real caution. Seven of the 141 ingredients on file rate major: grapefruit can raise salmeterol levels by blocking the enzyme that clears it, St.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Salmeterol interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 84 real supplement products containing Thuja, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Thuja. Even though Thuja itself has no known interaction with Salmeterol, 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 Thuja and Salmeterol 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 Thuja
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Salmeterol
Steady interest

#2,546 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 Thuja reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Thuja and Salmeterol records this page draws on were last updated July 11, 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 Thuja

What is Thuja?

  • Warts and skin growths
  • Respiratory and immune support
  • Cold and upper respiratory symptoms
  • Topical skin conditions
  • Traditional use as a diuretic or to bring on menstruation

Thuja, also called northern white cedar or arborvitae, is a tree whose leaf and oil have a long history in folk and homeopathic medicine, especially for warts and immune support. Solid human evidence for these uses is very limited, and the undiluted oil contains thujone, which can be toxic. Talk with a pharmacist or doctor before using it, and avoid it during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Thuja occidentalis · Cupressaceae · Leaves (young twigs/branch tips) and essential oil · Homeopathic pellets, tinctures, topical ointments, essential oil, capsules, and combination cold/immune products

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

Thuja: dosing

There is no well-established standard dose for thuja, and products vary widely in strength. Homeopathic pellets, tinctures, and topical creams all use different concentrations.Because the essential oil contains potentially toxic thujone, it should not be taken by mouth without professional guidance.

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

Read the full Thuja monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Salmeterol Oral Inhalation

What Is Salmeterol Oral Inhalation Used For?

Brand name: Serevent

Serevent Diskus (salmeterol inhalation powder) is used for three main purposes: treating asthma in patients aged 4 and older alongside an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS), preventing exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) in patients aged 4 and older, and providing long-term maintenance treatment of bronchospasm associated with COPD — including chronic bronchitis and emphysema — in adults.

Important: Serevent Diskus is not a rescue inhaler. It will not relieve a sudden asthma or COPD attack. For asthma, it must always be used together with an inhaled corticosteroid — using it alone for asthma is contraindicated due to a serious risk of asthma-related death.

See full Salmeterol Oral Inhalation drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Thuja

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

0Major
576Moderate
0Minor
2,253No known interaction
Moderate

576 interactions

Showing 60 of 576 moderate interactions — see all 576 on the Thuja page.

No interaction 2,253 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Thuja References

The 10 references that drive our Thuja 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. Leung AY, Foster S. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs and Cosmetics. 2nd ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1996.
  2. McGuffin M, Hobbs C, Upton R, Goldberg A, eds. American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, LLC 1997.
  3. Millet Y, Jouglard J, Steinmetz MD, et al. Toxicity of some essential plant oils. Clinical and experimental study. Clin Toxicol 1981;18:1485-98. PubMed
  4. Gohla SH, Haubeck HD, Neth RD. Mitogenic activity of high molecular polysaccharide fractions isolated from the Cupressaceae Thuja occidentale L. I. Macrophage-dependent induction of CD-4-positive T-helper (Th+) lymphocytes. Leukemia 1988;2:528-33.
  5. Fetrow CW, Avila JR. Professional's Handbook of Complementary & Alternative Medicines. 1st ed. Springhouse, PA: Springhouse Corp., 1999.
  6. Henneicke-von Zepelin H, Hentschel C, Schnitker J, et al. Efficacy and safety of a fixed combination phytomedicine in the treatment of the common cold (acute viral respiratory tract infection): results of a randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled, m
  7. Naser, B., Bodinet, C., Tegtmeier, M., and Lindequist, U. Thuja occidentalis (Arbor vitae): A Review of its Pharmaceutical, Pharmacological and Clinical Properties. Evid.Based Complement Alternat.Med 2005;2(1):69-78.
  8. Patel R, Alavi F, Ortega S, Matela A. Herb-Induced Liver Injury by Cimicifuga racemosa and Thuja occidentalis Herbal Medications for Fertility. Case Rep Gastrointest Med 2021;2021:8858310. PubMed
  9. Ambooken B, Thomas M, Jisha KT. Papillary Eccrine Adenoma in a 5-year-old Girl Altered by Application of Thuja Ointment. J Cutan Aesthet Surg 2020;13(4):370-371. PubMed
  10. Badaoui A, Fougerousse AC. Contact dermatitis to linalool and limonene: Unusual sources of exposure. Ann Dermatol Venereol 2023;150(2):167-168. 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 Thuja and Salmeterol Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Thuja with Salmeterol?
We do not list a known interaction between Thuja and Salmeterol. 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 Thuja and Salmeterol have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to one 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 Thuja and Salmeterol at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Salmeterol says to take it on an empty stomach, and supplements are usually taken with a meal — so taking them together at breakfast is the easy mistake. Where that applies, keep Salmeterol on its own and move Thuja to a meal later in the day. Food instructions belong to the product rather than the ingredient, so check the directions on your own box. This is about absorption, not an interaction.
How was the Thuja and Salmeterol combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Salmeterol is filed under 3 classifications, and Thuja has documented interactions with 3 drug classes — none of Salmeterol'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 Thuja interact with any other medications?
Yes. Thuja has 576 documented drug interactions in our database — Salmeterol 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 Salmeterol interact with any supplements?
Yes. Salmeterol has documented interactions with 141 supplements in our database — Thuja is not one of them. The Salmeterol 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 Salmeterol and Thuja?

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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.