Drug & supplement interaction

Yin Chen + Venlafaxine

Venlafaxine brand names: Effexor XR, Effexor.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Yin Chen and Venlafaxine 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 Venlafaxine 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.

Know someone taking this? Share
Interaction report

Yin Chen and Venlafaxine

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 Venlafaxine and Yin Chen 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.

Yin Chen safety at a glance

Yin Chen overall Use caution Generally used in traditional medicine, but human safety data are limited.
Pregnancy Avoid Not enough safety information; Artemisia plants are best avoided during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Avoid No reliable safety data, so avoid use while breastfeeding.

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

Still wondering about combining Venlafaxine and Yin Chen? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Venlafaxine

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Venlafaxine is filed under 8 classifications — including antidepressant drugs, qt interval-prolonging drugs, serotonergic drugs. Yin Chen has documented interactions with 2 drug classes — the most serious being cns depressants (moderate) and pentobarbital (nembutal) (moderate) — and none of Venlafaxine’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

Yin Chen Does Interact With Other Medications

Yin Chen has 248 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Venlafaxine 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 Yin Chen

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

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Yin Chen and Venlafaxine 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. 3 of them are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Fainting Worth acting on Additional detail

    Yin Chen

    “Orally, yin chen has been reported to cause dizziness. Taking yin chen in doses of 15-30 grams has been reported to cause headache, numbness and tremor of the upper extremities, and fainting (12).”

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

    2 sources cited
    1. 4343. Huang KC. The Pharmacology of Chinese Herbs. 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, LLC, 1999:258.
    2. 12. McGuffin M, Hobbs C, Upton R, Goldberg A, eds. American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, LLC 1997.

    Venlafaxine

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

  • An irregular heartbeat Worth acting on Additional detail

    Yin Chen

    Recorded for Yin Chen in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Fainting above.

    Venlafaxine

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

  • Liver problems Worth acting on Additional detail

    Yin Chen

    “Orally, taking yin chen in doses of 15-30 grams has been reported to cause arrhythmias (12). In one study, two females taking yin chen and da zao (Fructus Zizyphi Jujubae) orally to treat infectious hepatitis developed Adams-Stokes syndrome (sudden collapse into unconsciousness due to serious arrhythmias). It is not clear if yin chen, da zao, the combination, or another factor was responsible.”

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

    2 sources cited
    1. 12. McGuffin M, Hobbs C, Upton R, Goldberg A, eds. American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, LLC 1997.
    2. 4342. Bensky D, Gamble A, Kaptchuk T. Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica. Seattle, WA: Eastland Press, 1996:214-6.

    Venlafaxine

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

  • Tremor or shakiness / Headache Additional detail

    Yin Chen

    Recorded for Yin Chen in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Fainting above.

    Venlafaxine

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

  • Numbness or tingling / Dizziness Additional detail

    Yin Chen

    Recorded for Yin Chen in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Fainting above.

    Venlafaxine

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

  • Nausea Additional detail

    Yin Chen

    “Orally, yin chen has been reported to cause nausea and abdominal distention.”

    Yin Chen · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in nausea and vomiting.

    1 source cited
    1. 4343. Huang KC. The Pharmacology of Chinese Herbs. 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, LLC, 1999:258.

    Venlafaxine

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

Reported for Yin Chen but not commonly for Venlafaxine: bloating or gas.

Effects for Venlafaxine come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Yin Chen 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.

How to take them

Some Venlafaxine Products Have a Food Rule — Yin Chen Should Not Break It

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

Take once daily with food.

From the Dosage and Administration section of the FDA label we read for Venlafaxine — 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 Yin Chen or Venlafaxine

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

This page covers Yin Chen only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Venlafaxine page lists 110 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: 8 major · 82 moderate · 20 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Venlafaxine page

“Venlafaxine (Effexor, Effexor XR) is an antidepressant that raises serotonin, which is exactly where part of the danger on this page sits, and its 110 interactions deserve genuine respect. Eight carry a major rating, most tied to heart rhythm: several ingredients, grapefruit among them, can stretch the QT interval and add to a strain v…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Venlafaxine interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 20 real supplement products containing Yin Chen, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Yin Chen. Even though Yin Chen itself has no known interaction with Venlafaxine, 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 Yin Chen and Venlafaxine 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 Yin Chen
Steady interest

#1,080 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Venlafaxine
Top 10%

#177 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 Yin Chen reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Yin Chen and Venlafaxine 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 Yin Chen

What is Yin Chen?

Yin Chen
  • Liver and gallbladder support
  • Jaundice (traditional use)
  • Digestive complaints
  • Skin conditions (topical)
  • Anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial purposes

Yin Chen is a traditional Chinese medicine herb used mainly for liver and gallbladder complaints and jaundice. Most of the evidence comes from laboratory and animal studies, so its benefits in people are not well proven. Talk with a pharmacist or doctor before using it, especially if you have a liver condition, are pregnant, or are breastfeeding.

Artemisia capillaris · Asteraceae · Aerial parts (young shoots and leaves) · Tea, dried herb, powdered extract, capsules, topical washes, and traditional herbal formulas (such as Inchinko-to/Yin Chen Hao Tang)

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

Yin Chen: dosing

There is no well-established, standardized dose of Yin Chen for any condition. Traditional preparations and modern products vary widely in strength and form.If you choose to use it, follow the directions on the product label and do not exceed them. Avoid guessing your own dose.

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

Read the full Yin Chen monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Venlafaxine

What Is Venlafaxine Used For?

Brand names: Effexor XR, Effexor

Venlafaxine is used to treat major depressive disorder (MDD) across all available formulations. Extended-release capsules (including Effexor XR) are also approved for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), and panic disorder (PD).

Extended-release tablets are approved for major depressive disorder and social anxiety disorder. Immediate-release venlafaxine tablets are indicated for major depressive disorder only.

See full Venlafaxine drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Yin Chen

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

0Major
248Moderate
0Minor
2,581No known interaction
Moderate

248 interactions

Showing 60 of 248 moderate interactions — see all 248 on the Yin Chen page.

No interaction 2,581 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Yin Chen References

The 4 references that drive our Yin Chen 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. McGuffin M, Hobbs C, Upton R, Goldberg A, eds. American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, LLC 1997.
  2. Bensky D, Gamble A, Kaptchuk T. Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica. Seattle, WA: Eastland Press, 1996:214-6.
  3. Huang KC. The Pharmacology of Chinese Herbs. 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, LLC, 1999:258.
  4. dela Peña IJ, Hong E, Kim HJ, et al. Artemisia capillaris thunberg produces sedative-hypnotic effects in mice, which are probably mediated through potentiation of the GABAA receptor. Am J Chin Med. 2015;43(4):667-79.

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 Yin Chen and Venlafaxine Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Yin Chen with Venlafaxine?
We do not list a known interaction between Yin Chen and Venlafaxine. 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 Yin Chen and Venlafaxine have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 8 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 Yin Chen and Venlafaxine at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Venlafaxine says to take it with food. If you take Yin Chen on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate and take Venlafaxine with a meal where the label says to. Food instructions belong to the product rather than the ingredient — two Venlafaxine products can differ — so check the directions on your own box. This is about absorption, not an interaction.
How was the Yin Chen and Venlafaxine combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Venlafaxine is filed under 8 classifications, and Yin Chen has documented interactions with 2 drug classes — none of Venlafaxine'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 Yin Chen interact with any other medications?
Yes. Yin Chen has 248 documented drug interactions in our database — Venlafaxine 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 Venlafaxine interact with any supplements?
Yes. Venlafaxine has documented interactions with 110 supplements in our database — Yin Chen is not one of them. The Venlafaxine 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 Venlafaxine and Yin Chen?

Our pharmacists answer your medication & supplement questions — free.

Ask a pharmacist

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.