Drug & supplement interaction

Tonka Bean + Hydroxychloroquine

Hydroxychloroquine brand name: Plaquenil.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Tonka Bean and Hydroxychloroquine 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 Hydroxychloroquine 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

Tonka Bean and Hydroxychloroquine

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 Hydroxychloroquine and Tonka Bean 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.

Worth understanding: our licensed dataset holds no drug-interaction record for Tonka Bean at all — not against Hydroxychloroquine, and not against any other medication we track. This verdict therefore rests on the absence of any recorded data, not on research that looked at this combination and found nothing. We cannot rule an interaction out.

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.

Tonka Bean safety at a glance

Tonka Bean overall Use caution Tonka bean is high in coumarin, which can harm the liver in larger amounts, and it is restricted as a food additive in many countries.
Pregnancy Likely Unsafe When used orally; avoid using. Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Likely Unsafe When used orally; 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 Hydroxychloroquine and Tonka Bean? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Tonka Bean and Hydroxychloroquine 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. One of them is worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Liver problems Worth acting on Additional detail

    Tonka Bean

    “Orally, tonka bean may be unsafe.

    Most Common Adverse Effects:

    Orally: Diarrhea, dizziness, insomnia, nausea, and vomiting.

    Serious Adverse Effects (Rare):

    Orally: Liver toxicity, paralysis of the heart.”

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

    Hydroxychloroquine

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

  • Trouble sleeping / Dizziness Additional detail

    Tonka Bean

    “Orally, coumarin, a constituent of tonka bean, has been associated with dizziness and insomnia.”

    Tonka Bean · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in insomnia.

    1 source cited
    1. 287. Marshall ME, Butler K, Fried A. Phase I evaluation of coumarin (1,2 benzopyrone) and cimetidine in patients with advanced malignancies. Mol Biother 1991;3:170-8.

    Hydroxychloroquine

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

  • Diarrhea / Vomiting / Nausea Additional detail

    Tonka Bean

    “Orally, coumarin, a constituent of tonka bean, has been associated with nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.”

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

    2 sources cited
    1. 286. Mohler JL, Gomella LG, Crawford ED, et al. Phase II evaluation of coumarin (1,2-benzopyrone) in metastatic prostatic carcinoma. Prostate 1992;20:123-31. PubMed
    2. 287. Marshall ME, Butler K, Fried A. Phase I evaluation of coumarin (1,2 benzopyrone) and cimetidine in patients with advanced malignancies. Mol Biother 1991;3:170-8.

    Hydroxychloroquine

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

Effects for Hydroxychloroquine come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Tonka Bean come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Wording is matched across sources by our own clinical vocabulary, so treat this as a prompt to pay attention, not a diagnosis.

Special populations

Tonka Bean in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy And Lactation Likely Unsafe

When used orally; 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 Hydroxychloroquine Products Have a Food Rule — Tonka Bean Should Not Break It

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

Rheumatoid Arthritis in Adults ( 2.3 ): Initial dosage: 400 mg to 600 mg daily Chronic dosage: 200 mg once daily or 400 mg once daily (or in two divided doses) Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Adults ( 2.4 ): 200 mg once daily or 400 mg once daily (or in two divided doses) Chronic Discoid Lupus Erythematosus in Adults ( 2.5 ): 200 mg once daily or 400 mg once daily (or in two divided doses) 2.1 Imp

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Tonka Bean or Hydroxychloroquine

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

This page covers Tonka Bean only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Hydroxychloroquine page lists 32 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

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

By severity: 7 major · 16 moderate · 9 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Hydroxychloroquine page

“Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) can stretch the QT interval on its own, the pause between heartbeats that, prolonged too far, can trigger a dangerous rhythm. Thirteen of the supplements and herbs on this page add to that same effect, grapefruit in large amounts among them, and that overlap is why this list calls for genuine care rather…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Hydroxychloroquine interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 6 real supplement products containing Tonka Bean, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Tonka Bean. Even though Tonka Bean itself has no known interaction with Hydroxychloroquine, 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 Tonka Bean and Hydroxychloroquine 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 Tonka Bean
Steady interest

#1,290 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Hydroxychloroquine
Top 25%

#339 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 Tonka Bean reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Tonka Bean and Hydroxychloroquine 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 Tonka Bean

What is Tonka Bean?

  • Flavoring in food and desserts
  • Fragrance and perfume
  • Cough and sore throat (traditional)
  • Digestive complaints (traditional)
  • Relaxation

Tonka bean comes from the seed of a South American tree and is prized for its sweet, vanilla-like aroma in perfumes and cooking. It contains coumarin, which can be toxic to the liver and is restricted in food in many countries, so it is not recommended as a health supplement. There is no reliable evidence that it treats any medical condition.

Dipteryx odorata · Fabaceae · Seeds (beans) and the extract or essential oil · Whole or grated bean, extract/flavoring, essential oil, perfume ingredient

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

Tonka Bean: dosing

There is no established safe or effective medicinal dose for tonka bean, and it is not recommended as a supplement. In cooking, chefs use only a tiny shaving of the bean because of its strong flavor and coumarin content.If you come across a product containing tonka bean, follow the product label and keep amounts very small.

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

Read the full Tonka Bean monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Hydroxychloroquine

What Is Hydroxychloroquine Used For?

Brand name: Plaquenil

Hydroxychloroquine tablets are used to treat uncomplicated malaria and to help prevent malaria in areas where the parasite has not developed resistance to it — in both adults and children. It is also used in adults to treat rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and chronic discoid lupus erythematosus.

There are important limits: it is not recommended for complicated or drug-resistant malaria, malaria acquired in regions where resistance is known, or to prevent malaria relapses caused by P. vivax or P. ovale. Its use for the autoimmune conditions (rheumatoid arthritis and lupus) is approved for adults only.

See full Hydroxychloroquine drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Tonka Bean

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

0Major
0Moderate
0Minor
2,829No known interaction
No interaction 2,829 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Tonka Bean References

The 4 references that drive our Tonka Bean 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. The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, MO: Wolters Kluwer Co., 1999.
  2. Mohler JL, Gomella LG, Crawford ED, et al. Phase II evaluation of coumarin (1,2-benzopyrone) in metastatic prostatic carcinoma. Prostate 1992;20:123-31. PubMed
  3. Marshall ME, Butler K, Fried A. Phase I evaluation of coumarin (1,2 benzopyrone) and cimetidine in patients with advanced malignancies. Mol Biother 1991;3:170-8.
  4. Cox D, O'Kennedy R, Thornes RD. The rarity of toxicity in patients treated with coumarin (1,2-benzopyrone). Hum Toxicol 1989;8:501-6.

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 Tonka Bean and Hydroxychloroquine Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Tonka Bean with Hydroxychloroquine?
We do not list a known interaction between Tonka Bean and Hydroxychloroquine. 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 Tonka Bean and Hydroxychloroquine have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 6 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 Tonka Bean and Hydroxychloroquine at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Hydroxychloroquine says to take it with food. If you take Tonka Bean on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate and take Hydroxychloroquine with a meal where the label says to. Food instructions belong to the product rather than the ingredient — two Hydroxychloroquine products can differ — so check the directions on your own box. This is about absorption, not an interaction.
Does Hydroxychloroquine interact with any supplements?
Yes. Hydroxychloroquine has documented interactions with 32 supplements in our database — Tonka Bean is not one of them. The Hydroxychloroquine 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 Hydroxychloroquine and Tonka Bean?

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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.