Drug & supplement interaction

Winter Savory + Rufinamide

Rufinamide brand name: Banzel.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Winter Savory and Rufinamide 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 Rufinamide states a food rule worth keeping to.

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Interaction report

Winter Savory and Rufinamide

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 Rufinamide and Winter Savory 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.

Winter Savory safety at a glance

Winter Savory overall Use caution Likely safe as a food seasoning, but concentrated extracts and essential oil are not well studied in people.
Pregnancy Avoid Avoid medicinal or essential oil amounts during pregnancy due to a lack of safety data.
Breastfeeding Use caution Food amounts are likely fine, but avoid concentrated supplements and the essential oil without medical advice.

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

Still wondering about combining Rufinamide and Winter Savory? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Rufinamide

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Rufinamide is filed under 4 classifications — including cytochrome p450 3a4 (cyp3a4) inducers, cns depressants, oral drugs. Winter Savory has documented interactions with 1 drug class — the most serious being lithium (moderate) — and none of Rufinamide’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

Winter Savory Does Interact With Other Medications

Winter Savory has 1 moderate known drug interaction in our database — Rufinamide 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 Winter Savory

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

What to actually watch for

What Rufinamide’s Own FDA Label Lists

This is not an interaction — none of it involves Winter Savory. These are the most notable effects listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of Rufinamide’s own FDA label, for the medication by itself. Knowing the drug’s own list makes it easier to work out the likely cause if something new turns up while you take both. 10 of them are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Seizures Worth acting on mentioned in 24.8% of FDA reports for Rufinamide
  • Kidney stones Worth acting on
  • Pain or burning when passing urine Worth acting on
  • Unsteadiness Worth acting on
  • An irregular heartbeat Worth acting on
  • A severe skin reaction Worth acting on
  • A low platelet count Worth acting on
  • Anemia Worth acting on
  • A low white blood cell count Worth acting on
  • A higher chance of infection Worth acting on

Showing the 10 most notable of 33 label-listed effects — ranked by how unusual each one is across medicines generally, with serious effects weighted up.

From the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Rufinamide. Read the label on DailyMed › Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 2,528 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Rufinamide that mention that effect — a reporting proportion, not an incidence rate and not evidence the drug caused it. Winter Savory’s licensed record lists no adverse effects our clinical vocabulary could match, so there is no Winter Savory side to compare — that is a limit of the record, not a statement that Winter Savory has no side effects.

How to take them

Some Rufinamide Products Have a Food Rule — Winter Savory Should Not Break It

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

2 DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION BANZEL should be given with food.

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

This page covers Winter Savory only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Rufinamide page lists 111 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: 1,4-butanediol (major), Activated Charcoal (major), Beer (major), Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (ghb) (major) and Kava (major).

By severity: 7 major · 89 moderate · 15 minor.

Open the Rufinamide interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 8 real supplement products containing Winter Savory, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Winter Savory. Even though Winter Savory itself has no known interaction with Rufinamide, 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 Winter Savory and Rufinamide 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 Winter Savory
Steady interest

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

29 days ago today
Medication Rufinamide
Top half

#771 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 Winter Savory reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Winter Savory and Rufinamide records this page draws on were last updated June 22, 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 Winter Savory

What is Winter Savory?

  • Digestive upset and gas
  • Sore throat
  • Antimicrobial
  • Cough
  • Seasoning food

Winter savory is a culinary herb in the mint family used mainly to flavor food and, in folk medicine, to ease digestion and sore throats. Solid human research is very limited, so it should not be relied on to treat any health condition. It is generally considered safe in food amounts, but concentrated extracts and the essential oil call for more caution.

Satureja montana · Lamiaceae · Leaves, flowering tops, and essential oil · Culinary herb, tea, dried herb, capsules, essential oil

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

Winter Savory: dosing

There is no established, standardized medicinal dose for winter savory. Most people simply use it as a seasoning in cooking, which is considered the safest way to enjoy it.If you choose a tea, capsule, or essential oil product, follow the directions on the product label and do not exceed the suggested amount. Essential oils are very concentrated and require special handling and dilution.

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

Read the full Winter Savory monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Rufinamide

What Is Rufinamide Used For?

Brand name: Banzel

Rufinamide — available as Banzel and generic rufinamide — is used as an add-on treatment (alongside other seizure medicines) for seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS), a severe type of epilepsy that usually begins in childhood and causes multiple types of seizures.

This indication applies to both the tablet and oral suspension forms, for pediatric patients 1 year of age and older as well as adults.

See full Rufinamide drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Winter Savory

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

0Major
1Moderate
0Minor
2,828No known interaction
Moderate

1 interaction

No interaction 2,828 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Winter Savory References

The 3 references that drive our Winter Savory 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. Leung AY, Foster S. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs and Cosmetics. 2nd ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1996.
  3. Sansalone S, Russo GI, Mondaini N, Cantiello F, Antonini G, Cai T. A combination of tryptophan, Satureja montana, Tribulus terrestris, Phyllanthus emblica extracts is able to improve sexual quality of life in patient with premature ejaculation. Arch Ital 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 Winter Savory and Rufinamide Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Winter Savory with Rufinamide?
We do not list a known interaction between Winter Savory and Rufinamide. 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.
Should I take Winter Savory and Rufinamide at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Rufinamide says to take it with food. If you take Winter Savory on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate and take Rufinamide with a meal where the label says to. Food instructions belong to the product rather than the ingredient — two Rufinamide products can differ — so check the directions on your own box. This is about absorption, not an interaction.
How was the Winter Savory and Rufinamide combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Rufinamide is filed under 4 classifications, and Winter Savory has documented interactions with 1 drug class — none of Rufinamide'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 Winter Savory interact with any other medications?
Yes. Winter Savory has 1 documented drug interaction in our database — Rufinamide 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 Rufinamide interact with any supplements?
Yes. Rufinamide has documented interactions with 111 supplements in our database — Winter Savory is not one of them. The Rufinamide 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 Rufinamide and Winter Savory?

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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.