Medication interaction hub

What Supplements Interact with Acarbose?

Acarbose brand names: Precose, Prandase, Glucobay. Every interaction below applies to the brands too.

281 Interactions 4 Major 240 Moderate 37 Minor
Curated & coded by · Clinical Pharmacist · Updated September 23, 2026

Drug–supplement interaction data sourced from Natural Medicines Pro, the licensed clinical database from TRC Healthcare / Therapeutic Research, with additional analysis by the HelloPharmacist Pharmacist Team. Our sources · Editorial policy

What is this page for?

One answer, for one medication: what supplements and herbal products interact with Acarbose? Every vitamin, herb, and supplement ingredient we’ve checked against it is on this page, ranked by severity, each linking to the full report for that exact pair.

This page covers supplement interactions only — to check Acarbose against your other medications, use the drug–drug interaction checker. Educational information from our licensed clinical databases, not medical advice. Our editorial policy

HelloPharmacist Bottom Line
Our Pharmacist Explains
What is this? The interaction data in the HelloPharmacist supplement database is licensed from Natural Medicines Pro by TRC Healthcare (Therapeutic Research). HelloPharmacist pharmacists often add our own analysis and context on top of that licensed data — such as this Bottom Line summary and the notes on individual interaction pages — and any such commentary is noted as ours.

Acarbose (Precose, Glucobay) is taken with meals to blunt the blood sugar rise after eating, and its supplement list calls for genuine care, starting with the four major-rated entries: heavy alcohol and the herb Siberian cocklebur can strain the liver alongside acarbose, while activated charcoal can soak up oral drugs and cut what reaches your body. Most of the 281 ingredients on file, 240 rated moderate and 37 minor, act on blood sugar itself, usually deepening acarbose's glucose-lowering effect and raising the chance of a low, though a few push sugar the other way.

A smaller cluster of seventeen entries can interfere with absorbing oral medicines generally, so keep those well spaced from your dose. If you use any of the glucose-lowering herbs listed below, check your sugar more often, and treat a true low with glucose, since acarbose slows the digestion of ordinary table sugar.

— , Clinical Pharmacist · July 18, 2026

Major 4 Moderate 240 Minor 37 No known interaction 1,171

This box checks one ingredient at a time (like turmeric or magnesium). Taking a supplement product with a whole label of ingredients? Search the product instead — we check every ingredient on it ↓

Most Viewed Ingredient Interactions

Acarbose: Top Interactions at a Glance

The Acarbose supplement & herbal interactions people checked most in the last 24 hours, colored by severity. Tap any ingredient to open the full report for that pair.

Showing the 12 highest-ranked of 281 interacting ingredients — plus 1,171 more checked with no known interaction. See the complete ranked list.

Start here

The Most-Checked Acarbose Combinations Today

The Acarbose + supplement pages people viewed most in the last 24 hours (resets at midnight). Open any card for the full report.

Minor Likelihood Unlikely Alpha-lipoic Acid + Acarbosei

Theoretically, taking alpha-lipoic acid with antidiabetes drugs might increase the risk of hypoglycemia.

Read the full interaction Minor Likelihood Unlikely Caffeine + Acarbosei

Theoretically, taking caffeine with antidiabetes drugs might interfere with blood glucose control.

Read the full interaction Moderate Likelihood Possible Ashwagandha + Acarbosei

Theoretically, taking ashwagandha with hepatotoxic drugs might increase the risk of liver damage.

Read the full interaction Moderate Likelihood Possible Acai + Acarbosei

Theoretically, taking acai with antidiabetes drugs might interfere with glycemic control.

Read the full interaction Moderate Likelihood Probable Niacin + Acarbosei

Niacin can increase blood glucose levels and may diminish the effects of antidiabetes drugs.

Read the full interaction Minor Likelihood Unlikely Blueberry + Acarbosei

Theoretically, blueberries or blueberry leaf extracts might increase the risk of hypoglycemia when taken with antidiabetes drugs.

Read the full interaction
The complete list

Every Supplement Checked Against Acarbose

All 1,452 ingredients in our database, ranked by severity — 281 with a Acarbose interaction on file and 1,171 with none found. Filter by severity or search any ingredient; hover the for what each ingredient is.

Looking for an interaction with a specific supplement product? Search products instead ↓

Straight answers

Can You Take It With Acarbose?

One-line answers, one card per combination — scroll through today’s 20 and tap any card for the full report. A different set rotates in daily until every combination has had its turn.

Can you take Alpha-lipoic Acid with Acarbose?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, taking alpha-lipoic acid with antidiabetes drugs might increase the risk of hypoglycemia.

Full Alpha-lipoic Acid + Acarbose answer

Can you take Caffeine with Acarbose?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, taking caffeine with antidiabetes drugs might interfere with blood glucose control.

Full Caffeine + Acarbose answer

Can you take Ashwagandha with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, taking ashwagandha with hepatotoxic drugs might increase the risk of liver damage.

Full Ashwagandha + Acarbose answer

Can you take Acai with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, taking acai with antidiabetes drugs might interfere with glycemic control.

Full Acai + Acarbose answer

Can you take Niacin with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Niacin can increase blood glucose levels and may diminish the effects of antidiabetes drugs.

Full Niacin + Acarbose answer

Can you take European Barberry with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, taking European barberry with antidiabetes drugs might increase the risk of hypoglycemia.

Full European Barberry + Acarbose answer

Can you take Eyebright with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, eyebright might increase the risk of hypoglycemia when taken with antidiabetes drugs.

Full Eyebright + Acarbose answer

Can you take Fasting with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Fasting might increase the risk of hypoglycemia if used with antidiabetes drugs.

Full Fasting + Acarbose answer

Can you take Fo-ti with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, fo-ti might increase the risk of liver damage when taken with hepatotoxic drugs.

Full Fo-ti + Acarbose answer

Can you take Galbanum with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, taking galbanum with antidiabetes drugs might increase the risk of hypoglycemia.

Full Galbanum + Acarbose answer

Can you take Garcinia with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, concomitant use with other potentially hepatotoxic drugs might increase the risk of developing liver damage.

Full Garcinia + Acarbose answer

Can you take Garden Cress with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, taking garden cress with antidiabetes drugs might increase the risk of hypoglycemia.

Full Garden Cress + Acarbose answer

Can you take Garlic with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, taking garlic with antidiabetes drugs might increase the risk of hypoglycemia.

Full Garlic + Acarbose answer

Can you take Ginger with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, taking ginger with antidiabetes drugs might increase the risk of hypoglycemia.

Full Ginger + Acarbose answer

Can you take Ginkgo with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, taking ginkgo with antidiabetes drugs might alter the response to antidiabetes drugs.

Full Ginkgo + Acarbose answer

Can you take Goldenseal with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, goldenseal might increase the risk of hypoglycemia when used with antidiabetes drugs.

Full Goldenseal + Acarbose answer

Can you take Gotu Kola with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, taking gotu kola with hepatotoxic drugs might have additive adverse effects.

Full Gotu Kola + Acarbose answer

Can you take Greater Celandine with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. There is some concern that greater celandine can adversely affect the liver.

Full Greater Celandine + Acarbose answer

Can you take Guar Gum with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Guar gum might reduce the absorption of some oral drugs, potentially decreasing their effectiveness.

Full Guar Gum + Acarbose answer

Can you take Guarumo with Acarbose?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Some clinical evidence suggests that drinking tea prepared with guarumo leaf might lower blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes...

Full Guarumo + Acarbose answer
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 entry links to a full report with the clinical detail, likelihood, evidence level, and citations for that exact combination.
  • Content is reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

How Does Our Interaction Checker Work?

Behind every verdict on this page is a category system. Our source database doesn’t document supplement interactions drug-by-drug — it documents them against groups of medications that behave the same way (for example, “drugs processed by the CYP3A4 liver enzyme” or “blood-thinning medications”).

So the check works in three steps: (1) Acarbose is classified into the pharmacology categories it belongs to, (2) every supplement interaction documented against any of those categories is inherited by Acarbose, and (3) each ingredient keeps its own severity, likelihood, and evidence grades from the underlying record. That’s why one supplement can carry several records for one drug — it may interact through more than one category.

Acarbose sits in 4 interaction categories. Open any one to see what the group means:

Antidiabetes Drugs 239 ingredients

Blood-sugar-lowering medications. Supplements that also lower glucose can push blood sugar too low when combined.

239 of the supplement ingredients on this page reach Acarbose through this category.

Hepatotoxic Drugs 38 ingredients

Medications with known liver considerations. Supplements that can stress the liver add to the load.

38 of the supplement ingredients on this page reach Acarbose through this category.

Oral Drugs 17 ingredients

A pharmacology grouping from our source database: medications in this group share a property that certain supplements are known to interact with, so an interaction documented for the group applies to every drug in it.

17 of the supplement ingredients on this page reach Acarbose through this category.

Acarbose (Precose, Prandase) 1 ingredient

A pharmacology grouping from our source database: medications in this group share a property that certain supplements are known to interact with, so an interaction documented for the group applies to every drug in it.

1 of the supplement ingredient on this page reaches Acarbose through this category.

About Acarbose

Acarbose is an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor used to help control blood sugar in type 2 diabetes.

Generic name: Acarbose  ·  Brand names: Precose, Prandase, Glucobay.

See the full Acarbose drug information

Related: does Acarbose deplete any nutrients?

Acarbose has 3 reported nutrient associations in the research literature — see the Acarbose nutrient depletion report.

Check a real product

Take a Supplement Product? Check the Whole Bottle Against Acarbose

Most supplements are combination products — and the interaction may come from an ingredient you didn’t buy it for. Search any product below (or scan its label) and we’ll check every ingredient on it against Acarbose.

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Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Acarbose & Supplements: Common Questions

What supplements interact with Acarbose?
Our database currently documents 281 ingredients with a known Acarbose interaction (4 major, 240 moderate, 37 minor). The practical move: scan the major group first, then look up the exact supplements you take rather than reading all 281. The highest-ranked right now: Siberian Cocklebur, Activated Charcoal, Beer.
Which Acarbose supplement interactions are the most serious?
Focus on the major group: Siberian Cocklebur, Activated Charcoal, Beer and Wine. A major rating means the combination can be clinically significant, not that harm is guaranteed — but it's exactly the kind of thing to run past your pharmacist before your next dose, not after. Jump to the ranked list.
Can I take vitamins or supplements while on Acarbose?
Plenty of supplements coexist fine with Acarbose; a shorter list does not. Rather than memorizing it, check the specific ingredients on your labels — the ranked list above covers every one we've checked, and multi-ingredient products can be checked label-by-label with our scanner. Try the label scanner or the interaction checker.
Do brands like Precose have the same supplement interactions as Acarbose?
Yes — Precose, Prandase, Glucobay all contain Acarbose, so everything on this page applies to them equally. Interactions belong to the active drug, never to the brand on the box; the same is true of generics.
Where do these interaction ratings come from?
Every rating comes from the Natural Medicines database — the same evidence-graded reference pharmacists and hospitals use — and each interaction carries three separate grades: severity (how bad it can be), likelihood (how well it's documented in studies and case reports), and an evidence level. Our pharmacists review the content; we never let an AI decide an interaction. See how to read the ratings and our editorial policy.
Does Acarbose deplete any vitamins or nutrients?
It might — Acarbose has 3 reported nutrient-depletion associations in the research literature, which is a different question from interactions: instead of a supplement changing the drug, the drug may lower a nutrient over time. See the Acarbose nutrient depletion report for the specifics and what to discuss with your pharmacist.
What about Acarbose and my other medications?
This page covers Acarbose against supplements and herbal ingredients. Checking Acarbose against your other prescription or OTC medications is a different tool — our drug interaction checker covers that side. Head to the drug–drug interaction checker, or read the full Acarbose drug information.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

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Sourcing

Where This Data Comes From — and Why You Can Trust It

🧪 Licensed clinical database

Every interaction verdict on this page comes from Natural Medicines Pro (TRC Healthcare / Therapeutic Research) — the same evidence-graded reference used by pharmacists and hospitals. We license this data directly; we do not scrape it, and no AI invents an interaction.

🧑‍⚕️ Pharmacist review

This page is curated and coded by , Clinical Pharmacist, with additional analysis by the HelloPharmacist Pharmacist Team. Editorial commentary is ours; the licensed interaction records are shown as sourced.

🔄 Kept current

Our interaction database refreshes on a weekly cycle, and this page re-checks the live database every time it’s rebuilt — what you see reflects the database as of September 23, 2026.

🔍 Full transparency

How every dataset on this site is sourced, licensed, and updated is documented publicly: our data sources · editorial policy · how we use AI.

Educational information, not medical advice. An interaction being on file does not mean it will happen to you — and absence of one is not proof of safety. Never start or stop a medication or supplement without talking to your pharmacist or doctor.