Medication interaction hub

What Supplements Interact with Hydroxychloroquine?

Hydroxychloroquine brand name: Plaquenil. Every interaction below applies to the brands too.

32 Interactions 7 Major 16 Moderate 9 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 Hydroxychloroquine? 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 Hydroxychloroquine 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.

Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) can stretch the QT interval on its own, the pause between heartbeats that, prolonged too far, can trigger a dangerous rhythm. Thirteen of the supplements and herbs on this page add to that same effect, grapefruit in large amounts among them, and that overlap is why this list calls for genuine care rather than a quick skim. The most serious entries are almost all rhythm-related, and they are the ones to understand first.

The other big cluster works on absorption. Seventeen ingredients, mostly fibers and charcoal products, with activated charcoal the worst offender, can change how much of an oral dose reaches your bloodstream, so keep them well apart from your tablets. Three more are herbs the drug may clear more slowly, letting them build up. Of the 32 ingredients on file, 16 rate moderate and 9 minor, but the seven major entries are the ones to know cold.

— , Clinical Pharmacist · July 18, 2026

Major 7 Moderate 16 Minor 9 No known interaction 1,420

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 ↓

Top Ingredient Interactions

Hydroxychloroquine: Top Interactions at a Glance

The most significant Hydroxychloroquine supplement & herbal interactions, colored by severity. Tap any ingredient to open the full report for that pair.

Showing the 12 highest-ranked of 32 interacting ingredients — plus 1,420 more checked with no known interaction. See the complete ranked list.

Start here

The Major Interactions to Know About

The most clinically significant Hydroxychloroquine + supplement combinations in our database, best-documented first. Open any card for the full report.

Major Likelihood Probable Activated Charcoal + Hydroxychloroquinei

Activated charcoal reduces systemic exposure to many drugs, including those that undergo enterohepatic recirculation, regardless of the route of administration.

Read the full interaction Major Likelihood Probable Arsenic + Hydroxychloroquinei

Arsenic trioxide can prolong the QT interval.

Read the full interaction Major Likelihood Probable Cesium + Hydroxychloroquinei

Theoretically, taking cesium concomitantly with other drugs that prolong the QT interval may increase the risk of ventricular arrhythmias and death.

Read the full interaction Major Likelihood Probable Ephedra + Hydroxychloroquinei

Theoretically, ephedra might have an additive effect with drugs that prolong the QT interval.

Read the full interaction Major Likelihood Probable Grapefruit + Hydroxychloroquinei

Grapefruit or grapefruit juice, especially if consumed in large amounts, can cause additive QT interval prolongation when taken with QT interval-prolonging drug...

Read the full interaction Major Likelihood Probable Sida Cordifolia + Hydroxychloroquinei

Theoretically, Sida cordifolia might increase the risk of additive QT interval prolongation when taken with QT interval-prolonging drugs.

Read the full interaction
The complete list

Every Supplement Checked Against Hydroxychloroquine

All 1,452 ingredients in our database, ranked by severity — 32 with a Hydroxychloroquine interaction on file and 1,420 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 Hydroxychloroquine?

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 Puravive with Hydroxychloroquine?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Puravive contains Panax ginseng.

Full Puravive + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Slippery Elm with Hydroxychloroquine?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, slippery elm may slow the absorption and reduce serum levels of oral drugs.

Full Slippery Elm + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Tragacanth with Hydroxychloroquine?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, tragacanth might alter absorption of oral drugs.

Full Tragacanth + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Thyroid Extract with Hydroxychloroquine?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Food and medications can interfere with thyroid hormone absorption.

Full Thyroid Extract + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Agar with Hydroxychloroquine?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Agar forms a thick gel, which may disrupt the absorption of nutrients and medications.

Full Agar + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Algin with Hydroxychloroquine?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, algin can alter the absorption of oral drugs.

Full Algin + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Black Psyllium with Hydroxychloroquine?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, psyllium might increase, decrease, or have no effect on the absorption of oral drugs.

Full Black Psyllium + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Blond Psyllium with Hydroxychloroquine?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, psyllium might increase, decrease, or have no effect on the absorption of oral drugs.

Full Blond Psyllium + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Carob with Hydroxychloroquine?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, carob might also impair the absorption of oral drugs.

Full Carob + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Karaya Gum with Hydroxychloroquine?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Co-administration of oral drugs with bulk forming laxatives such as karaya gum may decrease, increase, or have no effect on the absorption o...

Full Karaya Gum + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Marshmallow with Hydroxychloroquine?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, mucilage in marshmallow might impair absorption of oral drugs.

Full Marshmallow + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Xanthan Gum with Hydroxychloroquine?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, xanthan gum can alter the absorption of oral drugs due to its fiber qualities.

Full Xanthan Gum + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Activated Charcoal with Hydroxychloroquine?

Major Use real caution — this is a major-rated interaction, generally best avoided or used only under close supervision. Activated charcoal reduces systemic exposure to many drugs, including those that undergo enterohepatic recirculation, regardless of the rout...

Full Activated Charcoal + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Arsenic with Hydroxychloroquine?

Major Use real caution — this is a major-rated interaction, generally best avoided or used only under close supervision. Arsenic trioxide can prolong the QT interval.

Full Arsenic + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Cesium with Hydroxychloroquine?

Major Use real caution — this is a major-rated interaction, generally best avoided or used only under close supervision. Theoretically, taking cesium concomitantly with other drugs that prolong the QT interval may increase the risk of ventricular arrhythmias an...

Full Cesium + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Ephedra with Hydroxychloroquine?

Major Use real caution — this is a major-rated interaction, generally best avoided or used only under close supervision. Theoretically, ephedra might have an additive effect with drugs that prolong the QT interval.

Full Ephedra + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Grapefruit with Hydroxychloroquine?

Major Use real caution — this is a major-rated interaction, generally best avoided or used only under close supervision. Grapefruit or grapefruit juice, especially if consumed in large amounts, can cause additive QT interval prolongation when taken with QT inte...

Full Grapefruit + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Sida Cordifolia with Hydroxychloroquine?

Major Use real caution — this is a major-rated interaction, generally best avoided or used only under close supervision. Theoretically, Sida cordifolia might increase the risk of additive QT interval prolongation when taken with QT interval-prolonging drugs.

Full Sida Cordifolia + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take American Hellebore with Hydroxychloroquine?

Major Use real caution — this is a major-rated interaction, generally best avoided or used only under close supervision. American hellebore, also known as Veratrum viride, contains alkaloids that can potentially prolong the QT interval on an electrocardiogram (...

Full American Hellebore + Hydroxychloroquine answer

Can you take Coffee Charcoal with Hydroxychloroquine?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Coffee charcoal can reduce the absorption of orally administered drugs and should be separated from oral drug administration by at least two...

Full Coffee Charcoal + Hydroxychloroquine 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) Hydroxychloroquine is classified into the pharmacology categories it belongs to, (2) every supplement interaction documented against any of those categories is inherited by Hydroxychloroquine, 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.

Hydroxychloroquine sits in 3 interaction categories. Open any one to see what the group means:

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 Hydroxychloroquine through this category.

Qt Interval-Prolonging Drugs 13 ingredients

Medications that can affect the heart's electrical rhythm (the QT interval). Supplements with similar effects can add to that risk.

13 of the supplement ingredients on this page reach Hydroxychloroquine through this category.

Cytochrome P450 2D6 (Cyp2D6) Inhibitors 3 ingredients

A drug-metabolism group: these medications are processed by the named liver enzyme (a cytochrome P450). Supplements that speed this enzyme up or slow it down can lower or raise the medication's levels in your body.

3 of the supplement ingredients on this page reach Hydroxychloroquine through this category.

About Hydroxychloroquine

Hydroxychloroquine is an antimalarial and antirheumatic drug used to prevent and treat malaria, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Generic name: Hydroxychloroquine  ·  Brand name: Plaquenil.

See the full Hydroxychloroquine drug information
Check a real product

Take a Supplement Product? Check the Whole Bottle Against Hydroxychloroquine

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 Hydroxychloroquine.

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Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Hydroxychloroquine & Supplements: Common Questions

What supplements interact with Hydroxychloroquine?
More than you might expect — 32 in total, though they are far from equal: 7 are rated major, 16 moderate, and 9 minor. The ranked list on this page puts the ones that genuinely matter first, and every entry opens a full report on that exact pair. The highest-ranked right now: Activated Charcoal, Arsenic, Cesium.
Which Hydroxychloroquine supplement interactions are the most serious?
The 7 major-rated combinations — led by Activated Charcoal, Arsenic, Cesium, Ephedra and Grapefruit — deserve real caution: these are the ones generally best avoided, or used only with your prescriber watching. If you take any of them today, don't panic and don't stop anything abruptly — call your pharmacist first. Jump to the ranked list.
Can I take vitamins or supplements while on Hydroxychloroquine?
Usually yes — most people on Hydroxychloroquine can take most supplements. The catch is the exceptions, and they aren't always the exotic ones (St. John's Wort trips up more prescriptions than almost anything sold next to it). Look up each ingredient you actually take in the list above, and treat "no known interaction" as a green-ish light, not a guarantee. Try the label scanner or the interaction checker.
Do brands like Plaquenil have the same supplement interactions as Hydroxychloroquine?
Yes — Plaquenil all contain Hydroxychloroquine, 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.
What about Hydroxychloroquine and my other medications?
This page covers Hydroxychloroquine against supplements and herbal ingredients. Checking Hydroxychloroquine 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 Hydroxychloroquine 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.