Herb & supplement monograph

Gamboge Drug Interactions, Uses, Safety & More

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

What is this page for?

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

But these pages have grown well beyond that into a full monograph — what Gamboge 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

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Reviewed by licensed pharmacists Sourced from Natural Medicines

On this page

Gamboge 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 Gamboge drug interaction appears modest for most people, especially with occasional, sensible use. None of the listed interactions are rated major, and every one is theoretical, resting on limited or lab-based evidence rather than documented effects in people.

Interactions deserving the most attention

The concerns that deserve the most attention all trace back to one thing: gamboge acts as a strong stimulant laxative, and overuse can drain fluid and potassium from the body. That matters most with warfarin, where diarrhea could raise INR and bleeding risk, with digoxin, where low potassium can increase the chance of toxicity, and with potassium-depleting diuretics, where the losses could add up. Corticosteroids and other stimulant laxatives raise the same potassium and fluid concern.

What the rest of the list means

Although the number of listed medications is large, nearly all of them share this single predicted mechanism rather than separate proven problems. None of these effects have been confirmed in well-controlled human studies, so the list describes what could happen with heavy or prolonged use, not what has been shown to happen with typical use.

Check your medications against Gamboge

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

Interaction report

Drugs that interact with Gamboge

122 medications have a known interaction with Gamboge, 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 Gamboge using our pharmacist-reviewed interaction data.

AI summaries are generated from our Gamboge 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 Gamboge 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 Gamboge affects

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

All 5 drug categories Gamboge interacts with

CorticosteroidsDigoxin (lanoxin)Diuretic DrugsStimulant LaxativesWarfarin (coumadin)

Corticosteroids

Theoretically, prolonged use might have additive effects with drugs that deplete potassium, including corticosteroids.