Herb & supplement monograph

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

But these pages have grown well beyond that into a full monograph — what Potato 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 Potato against your medication

Add one medication

✓ Supplement

Potato

1 Your medication

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

Reviewed by licensed pharmacists Sourced from Natural Medicines

On this page

Potato 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 Potato drug interaction appears low for most people, since the few known concerns involve medicines given in hospital settings rather than everyday prescriptions. No interactions are rated major, and the handful listed are moderate concerns tied to specific medical situations.

Interactions deserving the most attention

The interaction with the strongest human evidence involves succinylcholine, a muscle relaxant used during anesthesia. Eating potatoes before preoperative fasting has been shown to prolong this drug's effects and slow recovery, possibly because natural potato compounds block an enzyme the body uses to break the drug down. There is also a theoretical concern that a potato compound could boost the effects of thrombolytic drugs, the clot-busting medicines used in emergencies, though this comes from lab research rather than studies in people.

What the rest of the list means

The short list here does not mean potato is risky with medications in general. One concern is theoretical and has not been confirmed in humans, and both involve drugs given under close medical supervision, where teams routinely account for factors like recent food intake.

Check your medications against Potato

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

Interaction report

Drugs that interact with Potato

7 medications have a known interaction with Potato, 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 Potato using our pharmacist-reviewed interaction data.

AI summaries are generated from our Potato 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 Potato 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 Potato affects

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

All 2 drug categories Potato interacts with

SuccinylcholineThrombolytic Drugs

Succinylcholine

In humans, consuming potatoes prior to preoperative fasting prolongs the duration of the succinylcholine-induced neuromuscular block and slows recovery from anesthesia. This interaction is possibly related to inhibition of the butyrylcholinesterase enzyme by potato glycoalkaloids.

Likelihood Probable Evidence B

Thrombolytic Drugs

Theoretically, concomitant use of potato may enhance the effects of thrombolytic drugs. A carboxypeptidase inhibitor isolated from potato tubers may have inhibitory effects on thrombin-activatable thrombolysis inhibitor, and thereby enhance the activity of thrombolytic agents.

Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Monograph

Potato: Uses, Safety & Side Effects

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

The bottom line

Potato is a common food, and as a supplement it is mostly used in folk remedies such as raw potato juice for stomach upset or as a topical poultice. Solid scientific evidence for these uses is very limited. The edible tuber is safe as food, but green, sprouted, or raw potato in large amounts can contain natural toxins, so use caution and talk to your pharmacist before using potato as a remedy.

Scientific name: Solanum tuberosum
Family: Solanaceae
Part used: Tuber (and sometimes raw potato juice); leaves and sprouts are not used and can be toxic
Common forms: Whole cooked potato (food), raw potato juice, topical poultice, starch

People commonly use it for

Digestive complaints and heartburn
Minor skin irritation or burns (topical folk use)
Joint or muscle aches (traditional poultice)
Source of carbohydrates and potassium in the diet
Eye puffiness (cosmetic folk use)

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

Safety at a glance

OverallUse caution

Cooked potato is safe as food, but green, sprouted, or raw potato can contain natural toxins (glycoalkaloids).

PregnancyLikely Safe

When unblemished, ripe potatoes are used orally in food amounts. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of medicinal us...

Read the full pregnancy detail

BreastfeedingLikely Safe

When unblemished, ripe potatoes are used orally in food amounts. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of medicinal us...

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

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a starchy vegetable grown around the world and eaten as a staple food. It belongs to the nightshade family, the same plant family as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. The part we eat is the tuber, which grows underground.

Besides being a food, potato has a long history in folk medicine. People have used raw potato juice for stomach upset and heartburn, and have placed raw potato slices or grated potato poultices on the skin for minor burns, bruises, and aches. Potato starch is also used in many products.

It is important to know that the leaves, stems, sprouts, and green parts of the potato are not eaten and can be harmful because they contain natural toxins.

How it works

Potato contains starch, fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and various plant compounds. Some research, mostly in the laboratory, has looked at potato proteins and antioxidants for possible effects on digestion and inflammation, but these findings have not been clearly proven in people.

The same plant also makes natural defense chemicals called glycoalkaloids (such as solanine and chaconine). These are found in high amounts in green, sprouted, and raw parts of the plant and can be toxic. Cooking and proper storage keep these levels low in the edible tuber.

For the most part, any proposed benefits are based on the plant's nutrients or on laboratory and animal studies rather than strong human trials.

Effectiveness

Does Potato work?

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

Evidence overview · 9 uses evaluated

4 Leans ineffective 5 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.

Possibly Ineffective Colorectal cancer