Medication interaction hub

What Supplements Interact with Pioglitazone?

Pioglitazone brand name: Actos. Every interaction below applies to the brands too.

356 Interactions 6 Major 309 Moderate 41 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 Pioglitazone? 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 Pioglitazone 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.

Most of what appears on this pioglitazone (Actos) list shares one trait: the ingredients lower blood sugar on their own, which sounds helpful until you remember pioglitazone already does that job for people with type 2 diabetes. Stacked together, they can push glucose too low, and I would read this list with genuine care. Beyond blood sugar, alcohol and several liver-damaging herbs add strain to the organ that clears this drug, grapefruit can raise its levels, and St. John's wort can lower them.

A smaller cluster, activated charcoal and thick soluble fibers among them, can keep an oral dose from being absorbed fully, so space those well apart from your pill. If you add something glucose-lowering, know the sweating, shakiness, and irritability of a low. There are 356 ingredients below, most (309) rated moderate and 41 minor, but the six rated major are the ones to understand first.

— , Clinical Pharmacist · July 18, 2026

Major 6 Moderate 309 Minor 41 No known interaction 1,096

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

Pioglitazone: Top Interactions at a Glance

The Pioglitazone 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 356 interacting ingredients — plus 1,096 more checked with no known interaction. See the complete ranked list.

Start here

The Most-Checked Pioglitazone Combinations Today

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

Moderate Likelihood Probable Bitter Melon + Pioglitazonei

Taking bitter melon with antidiabetes drugs might increase the risk of hypoglycemia.

Read the full interaction Moderate Likelihood Possible Chromium + Pioglitazonei

Theoretically, chromium may have additive effects with antidiabetic agents and increase the risk of hypoglycemia.

Read the full interaction Moderate Likelihood Possible Chicory + Pioglitazonei

Theoretically, chicory might increase the risk of hypoglycemia when taken with antidiabetes drugs.

Read the full interaction Moderate Likelihood Possible Turkey Tail Mushroom + Pioglitazonei

Theoretically, taking turkey tail mushroom with antidiabetes drugs might increase the risk of hypoglycemia.

Read the full interaction Moderate Likelihood Possible Agrimony + Pioglitazonei

Theoretically, taking agrimony with antidiabetes drugs might increase the risk of hypoglycemia.

Read the full interaction Moderate Likelihood Possible Annatto + Pioglitazonei

Animal studies suggest that certain annatto extracts may have hypoglycemic or hyperglycemic effects.

Read the full interaction
The complete list

Every Supplement Checked Against Pioglitazone

All 1,452 ingredients in our database, ranked by severity — 356 with a Pioglitazone interaction on file and 1,096 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 Pioglitazone?

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 Bitter Melon with Pioglitazone?

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

Full Bitter Melon + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Chromium with Pioglitazone?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, chromium may have additive effects with antidiabetic agents and increase the risk of hypoglycemia.

Full Chromium + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Chicory with Pioglitazone?

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

Full Chicory + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Turkey Tail Mushroom with Pioglitazone?

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

Full Turkey Tail Mushroom + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Agrimony with Pioglitazone?

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

Full Agrimony + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Coffee with Pioglitazone?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, coffee might increase the levels and clinical effects of pioglitazone.

Full Coffee + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Cola Nut with Pioglitazone?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, cola nut might increase the levels and clinical effects of pioglitazone.

Full Cola Nut + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Coleus with Pioglitazone?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, taking coleus might decrease serum levels of drugs metabolized by CYP3A4.

Full Coleus + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Collard with Pioglitazone?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. In an animal study, an aqueous extract of collard leaves and stems has been shown to reduce glucose levels.

Full Collard + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Colocynth with Pioglitazone?

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

Full Colocynth + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Combretum Micranthum with Pioglitazone?

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

Full Combretum Micranthum + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Comfrey with Pioglitazone?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, comfrey might have additive adverse effects on the liver when used with hepatotoxic drugs.

Full Comfrey + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Coriander with Pioglitazone?

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

Full Coriander + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Corn Silk with Pioglitazone?

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

Full Corn Silk + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Corydalis Yanhusuo with Pioglitazone?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, Corydalis yanhusuo might increase serum levels of drugs metabolized by CYP3A4.

Full Corydalis Yanhusuo + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Cowhage with Pioglitazone?

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

Full Cowhage + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Cranberry with Pioglitazone?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, cranberry might increase the levels and adverse effects of CYP3A4 substrates.

Full Cranberry + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Cubebs with Pioglitazone?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Several compounds isolated from cubebs can inhibit cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) in vitro.

Full Cubebs + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Cucumber with Pioglitazone?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Theoretically, cucumber seed might have additive effects with antidiabetes drugs and may increase the risk of hypoglycemia.

Full Cucumber + Pioglitazone answer

Can you take Cudweed with Pioglitazone?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Preliminary research in rats shows that cudweed might lower blood glucose levels.

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

Pioglitazone sits in 6 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 Pioglitazone through this category.

Cytochrome P450 3A4 (Cyp3A4) Substrates 121 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.

121 of the supplement ingredients on this page reach Pioglitazone 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 Pioglitazone 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 Pioglitazone through this category.

Cytochrome P450 2C8 (Cyp2C8) Substrates 11 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.

11 of the supplement ingredients on this page reach Pioglitazone through this category.

Pioglitazone (Actos) 11 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.

11 of the supplement ingredients on this page reach Pioglitazone through this category.

About Pioglitazone

Pioglitazone is an oral diabetes medicine used alongside diet and exercise to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes.

Generic name: Pioglitazone  ·  Brand name: Actos.

See the full Pioglitazone drug information

Related: does Pioglitazone deplete any nutrients?

Pioglitazone has 1 reported nutrient association in the research literature — see the Pioglitazone nutrient depletion report.

Check a real product

Take a Supplement Product? Check the Whole Bottle Against Pioglitazone

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 Pioglitazone.

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Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Pioglitazone & Supplements: Common Questions

What supplements interact with Pioglitazone?
More than you might expect — 356 in total, though they are far from equal: 6 are rated major, 309 moderate, and 41 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: Grapefruit, Siberian Cocklebur, Activated Charcoal.
Which Pioglitazone supplement interactions are the most serious?
The 6 major-rated combinations — led by Grapefruit, Siberian Cocklebur, Activated Charcoal, Beer and St. John's Wort — 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 Pioglitazone?
Usually yes — most people on Pioglitazone 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 Actos have the same supplement interactions as Pioglitazone?
Yes — Actos all contain Pioglitazone, 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 Pioglitazone deplete any vitamins or nutrients?
It might — Pioglitazone has 1 reported nutrient-depletion association 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 Pioglitazone nutrient depletion report for the specifics and what to discuss with your pharmacist.
What about Pioglitazone and my other medications?
This page covers Pioglitazone against supplements and herbal ingredients. Checking Pioglitazone 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 Pioglitazone drug information.

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

Where next

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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.