Herb & supplement monograph

Alpinia Drug Interactions, Uses, Effectiveness, Safety & More

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS ·Updated July 2026

What is this page for?

First and foremost: how Alpinia interacts with medications. The heart of this page is the interaction list — every drug Alpinia is known to interact with, and how serious each one is.

But these pages have grown well beyond that into a full monograph — what Alpinia is, what people use it for and how strong the evidence is, its safety and side effects, and answers to the questions we’re asked most — written and reviewed by the clinical staff at HelloPharmacist. It’s educational information from our licensed clinical databases, not medical advice, and we don’t sell or endorse products. Our editorial policy

Check Alpinia against your medication

Add one medication

✓ Supplement

Alpinia

1 Your medication

Start typing any prescription or over-the-counter drug name.

Reviewed by licensed pharmacists Sourced from Natural Medicines

On this page

Alpinia Drug Interactions: The Bottom Line

From the HelloPharmacist Editorial Team · Updated July 2026

Based on the available evidence, the overall risk of a clinically significant Alpinia drug interaction appears low for most people. Every interaction on record for Alpinia is rated minor, with none reaching moderate or major severity.

Interactions deserving the most attention

The clearest theme in Alpinia's profile involves medicines that lower stomach acid. Because some reports suggest Alpinia may increase stomach acid, it could theoretically work against antacids, H2-blockers, and proton pump inhibitors, making them slightly less effective at controlling heartburn or reflux symptoms. There is also a possible interaction with the pain reliever indomethacin, where animal research suggests Alpinia might speed its removal from the body, though this has not been seen in people. None of these concerns rests on strong human evidence.

What the rest of the list means

Although a few dozen medications appear in Alpinia's interaction records, that number mostly reflects the many individual drugs within these few categories. All of the concerns are theoretical, drawn from limited reports or animal studies rather than well-controlled human research, and none has been shown to cause meaningful problems in people.

Check your medications against Alpinia

Based on HelloPharmacist’s Alpinia interaction data and reviewed under our editorial standards.

Interaction report

Drugs that interact with Alpinia

37 medications have a known interaction with Alpinia, graded by severity. Select any drug for the full evidence-based detail.

Don’t want to scroll the list? Just ask.

Tell us the medications you take and we’ll check each one against Alpinia using our pharmacist-reviewed interaction data.

AI summaries are generated from our Alpinia interaction data for education only — always confirm with your pharmacist. How we use AI

2,830 drugs

Read The List Like a Pharmacist

What Severity, Likelihood & Evidence Mean

Severity — How Serious It Can Be

Major. Clinically significant; generally best avoided, or used only under direct professional supervision.
Moderate. May need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separating the times you take each one.
Minor. Generally not clinically significant, but still worth noting and mentioning to your pharmacist.
No known interaction. Checked against our sources with nothing documented — not the same as proven safety.

Likelihood — How Well It’s Documented

Likely. Well-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction
Probable. Interaction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports.
Possible. Interaction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists
Unlikely. Interaction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.

Where This Data Comes From

Interaction records are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database (TRC Healthcare), the same reference used by pharmacists and hospitals.
Each drug listed above links to the full report for that exact Alpinia combination — clinical detail, likelihood, evidence level, and citations.
Content is reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

The big picture

The kinds of drugs Alpinia affects

Every type of medication (drug category) Alpinia is known to interact with. Open any category for the detail — or search your exact drug in the checker above.

All 4 drug categories Alpinia interacts with

AntacidsH2-blockersIndomethacin (tivorbex)Proton Pump Inhibitors (ppis)

Antacids

Theoretically, alpinia might decrease the effectiveness of antacids.
There are some reports suggesting that alpinia increases stomach acid.

Likelihood Possible Evidence D

H2-Blockers

Theoretically, alpinia might decrease the effectiveness of H2-blockers.
There are some reports suggesting that alpinia increases stomach acid.

Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Indomethacin (Tivorbex)

Theoretically, alpinia might reduce the levels and clinical effects of indomethacin.
In animals, giving an alpinia extract orally reduces systemic exposure to indomethacin, reduces its retention time in plasma, and accelerates its elimination in the bile and feces. This interaction has not been reported in humans.

Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Proton Pump Inhibitors (Ppis)

Theoretically, alpinia might decrease the effectiveness of PPIs.
There are some reports suggesting that alpinia increases stomach acid.

Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Monograph

Alpinia: Uses, Safety & Side Effects

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS · Reviewed July 2026 ·

The bottom line

Alpinia (lesser galangal) is a ginger-family root long used in Asian cooking and traditional medicine, mainly for digestive and inflammatory complaints. Most of its proposed health benefits come from laboratory and animal studies, and strong human evidence is lacking. Food amounts are generally well tolerated, but talk with your pharmacist or doctor before using concentrated supplements.

Scientific name: Alpinia officinarum
Family: Zingiberaceae
Part used: Rhizome (root)
Common forms: Dried rhizome, powder, capsules, tea, tincture, essential oil, culinary spice

People commonly use it for

Digestive upset and bloating
Nausea
Anti-inflammatory support
Respiratory and cough complaints
Antimicrobial
Appetite stimulant

Popular and traditional uses — not proof it works. See “Uses & effectiveness” below for the evidence.

Safety at a glance

OverallUse caution

Generally well tolerated as a food, but supplement-level safety is not well studied.

PregnancyInsufficient reliable information

There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of alpinia when used in medicinal amounts during pregnancy and lactation; avoid...

Read the full pregnancy detail

BreastfeedingInsufficient reliable information

There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of alpinia when used in medicinal amounts during pregnancy and lactation; avoid...

Read the full breastfeeding detail

Pregnancy & breastfeeding ratings are from Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center). Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Jump to a section

Overview

Alpinia (often called lesser galangal) is a leafy perennial plant in the ginger family. It is native to China and Southeast Asia, where it has been grown for centuries. The part used is the underground stem, called the rhizome, which looks and smells similar to ginger.

The rhizome has a spicy, pungent taste with notes of citrus and pine. It is a popular cooking ingredient in Thai, Indonesian, and other Southeast Asian dishes. In traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, it has been used since around AD 500 for digestion, inflammation, and other complaints.

Today people take Alpinia as a dried root, powder, capsule, tea, or tincture. Closely related plants such as greater galangal (Alpinia galanga) are also used in food and supplements.

How it works

Alpinia rhizome contains several natural compounds, including gingerols (also found in ginger), diarylheptanoids, and the flavonoid galangin. These are thought to be the main active ingredients.

In laboratory and animal research, these compounds appear to lower certain markers of inflammation, act as antioxidants that protect cells from damage, and slow the growth of some bacteria and fungi. Some studies also suggest effects on digestion and smooth muscle, which may help explain its traditional use for stomach upset.

Keep in mind these mechanisms are mostly based on test-tube and animal studies. How well they translate to real benefits in the human body is still unclear.

Effectiveness

Does Alpinia work?

Here’s what the research actually shows for each use — graded by Natural Medicines and reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD.

Evidence overview · 6 uses evaluated

6 Insufficient evidence

How to read these evidence grades

Natural Medicines’ 7-point scale. We show each rating’s label word-for-word.

1EffectiveStrong, consistent evidence it works.

2Likely EffectiveGood evidence, though not yet conclusive.

3Possibly EffectiveSome evidence suggests a benefit.

4Possibly IneffectiveSome evidence it may not help.

5Likely IneffectiveFairly strong evidence it doesn’t help.

6IneffectiveStrong evidence it doesn’t work.

7Insufficient Reliable Evidence to RateToo little research to say either way.

For Alpinia, current evidence isn’t strong enough to rate any specific use. The conditions it has been studied for are listed below.

Also studied for 6 conditions — evidence insufficient to rate

Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Angina