Drug & supplement interaction

Uzara + Gemcitabine

Gemcitabine brand name: Gemzar.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Uzara and Gemcitabine 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

Uzara and Gemcitabine

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 Gemcitabine and Uzara 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.

Uzara safety at a glance

Uzara overall Use caution It contains heart-active compounds and should only be used short-term and with professional guidance.
Pregnancy Avoid Safety is not established, so it is best avoided during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Avoid There is not enough safety information, so avoid use while breastfeeding.

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

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

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Gemcitabine

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Gemcitabine is filed under 2 classifications — antineoplastics, hepatotoxic drugs. Uzara has documented interactions with 6 drug classes — the most serious being digoxin (lanoxin) (major), diuretic drugs (moderate) and macrolide antibiotics (moderate) — and none of Gemcitabine’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

Uzara Does Interact With Other Medications

Uzara has 1 major, 132 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Gemcitabine 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 Uzara

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Uzara and Gemcitabine 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. 2 of them are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • An irregular heartbeat / Raised blood pressure Worth acting on Additional detail

    Uzara

    “Orally, uzara can cause cardiotoxic effects, especially in patients with pre-existing cardiovascular disease. In one case report, a 68-year-old female with diabetes and hypertension was admitted to the emergency room with reduced left-ventricular function, pulmonary edema, and arrhythmia.”

    Uzara · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in arrhythmia.

    1 source cited
    1. 99461. Thürmann PA, Neff A, Fleisch J. Interference of Uzara glycosides in assays of digitalis glycosides. Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2004;42(5):281-4. PubMed

    Gemcitabine

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

  • Swelling Additional detail

    Uzara

    Recorded for Uzara in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under An irregular heartbeat / Raised blood pressure above.

    Gemcitabine

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

Effects for Gemcitabine come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Uzara come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 53,020 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Gemcitabine 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.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Gemcitabine

This page covers Uzara only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Gemcitabine page lists 39 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Beer (major), Siberian Cocklebur (major), Wine (major), Ashwagandha (moderate) and Black Cohosh (moderate).

By severity: 3 major · 35 moderate · 1 minor.

Open the Gemcitabine interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Uzara and Gemcitabine 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 Uzara
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Gemcitabine
Steady interest

#2,103 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 Uzara reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Uzara and Gemcitabine 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 Uzara

What is Uzara?

  • Diarrhea
  • Stomach cramps
  • Menstrual cramps (dysmenorrhea)
  • Headaches
  • Digestive upset

Uzara is a traditional African root remedy used mainly for diarrhea and stomach cramps. Because it contains cardiac glycosides that can affect the heart, it should be used cautiously and for short periods only. Talk to a pharmacist or doctor before using it, especially if you have heart problems, are pregnant, or take heart medications.

Xysmalobium undulatum · Apocynaceae · Dried root · Liquid extract, tincture, tablets, drops

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

Uzara: dosing

There is no well-established standard dose for Uzara, and products vary in strength. The right amount depends on the specific preparation, such as drops, tincture, or tablets.The safest approach is to follow the directions on the product label and use it only for short periods. Do not exceed the recommended amount, since higher doses raise the risk of heart-related side effects.

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

Read the full Uzara monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Gemcitabine Injection

What Is Gemcitabine Injection Used For?

Brand name: Gemzar

Gemcitabine Injection (available as Avgemsi, Gemcitabine, and Infugem) is used to treat several types of cancer. It is given in combination with carboplatin for advanced ovarian cancer that has returned at least 6 months after platinum-based treatment, and in combination with paclitaxel as a first-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer after prior chemotherapy with an anthracycline (a specific class of chemo drug).

It is also given in combination with cisplatin for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that cannot be removed surgically or has spread. For pancreatic cancer that is locally advanced or has spread, it is used as a single agent — including in patients who have already been treated with fluorouracil.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Gemcitabine

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (53,020 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Disease progression 4,850 reports
Thrombocytopenia 3,706 reports
Neutropenia 3,295 reports
Anemia 3,084 reports
Malignant neoplasm progression 2,912 reports
See full Gemcitabine Injection drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Uzara

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

1Major
132Moderate
0Minor
2,696No known interaction
Major

1 interaction

Moderate

132 interactions

Showing 60 of 132 moderate interactions — see all 132 on the Uzara page.

No interaction 2,696 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Uzara References

The 7 references that drive our Uzara 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. Blumenthal M, ed. The Complete German Commission E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines. Trans. S. Klein. Boston, MA: American Botanical Council, 1998.
  2. Ellenhorn MJ, et al. Ellenhorn's Medical Toxicology: Diagnoses and Treatment of Human Poisoning. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins, 1997.
  3. Gruenwald J, Brendler T, Jaenicke C. PDR for Herbal Medicines. 1st ed. Montvale, NJ: Medical Economics Company, Inc., 1998.
  4. Burnham TH, ed. Drug Facts and Comparisons, Updated Monthly. Facts and Comparisons, St. Louis, MO.
  5. Abd-El-Maeboud KH, Kortam MA, Ali MS, Ibrahim MI, Mohamed RM. A preliminary pilot randomized crossover study of uzara (Xysmalobium undulatum) versus ibuprofen in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea. PLoS One. 2014;9(8):e104473. PubMed
  6. Schmiedl S, Ritter A, Szymanski J, et al. Cardiovascular effects, pharmacokinetics and cross-reactivity in digitalis glycoside immunoassays of an antidiarrheal uzara root extract. Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2012;50(10):729-40. PubMed
  7. Thürmann PA, Neff A, Fleisch J. Interference of Uzara glycosides in assays of digitalis glycosides. Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2004;42(5):281-4. 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 Uzara and Gemcitabine Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Uzara with Gemcitabine?
We do not list a known interaction between Uzara and Gemcitabine. 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 Uzara and Gemcitabine have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 3 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 Uzara and Gemcitabine combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Gemcitabine is filed under 2 classifications, and Uzara has documented interactions with 6 drug classes — none of Gemcitabine'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 Uzara interact with any other medications?
Yes. Uzara has 133 documented drug interactions in our database — Gemcitabine 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 Gemcitabine interact with any supplements?
Yes. Gemcitabine has documented interactions with 39 supplements in our database — Uzara is not one of them. The Gemcitabine 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 Gemcitabine and Uzara?

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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.