Medication interaction hub

What Supplements Interact with Saquinavir?

Saquinavir brand names: Invirase, Fortovase. Every interaction below applies to the brands too.

175 Interactions 5 Major 130 Moderate 40 Minor
Curated & coded by · Clinical Pharmacist · Updated September 22, 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 Saquinavir? 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 Saquinavir 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.

Saquinavir (Invirase), a protease inhibitor for HIV, only works while its blood level stays steady, which makes this a list to read carefully rather than skim. Five of the 175 ingredients carry a major rating, and several are ordinary drinks. Grapefruit juice pushes saquinavir levels up, apple and orange juice cut its absorption, and St. John's wort can drop levels far enough to risk treatment failure and a resistant virus. That last one I would stop completely.

Nearly everything else, 130 moderate and 40 minor entries, works through the same machinery, the liver enzyme and gut transporters that handle saquinavir, nudging its level up or down to a lesser degree. Roughly 20 add sun sensitivity instead. Activated charcoal rounds out the majors by soaking up the drug before it absorbs, so space it well apart from doses and go over the rest of your supplements with your HIV pharmacist.

— , Clinical Pharmacist · July 18, 2026

Major 5 Moderate 130 Minor 40 No known interaction 1,277

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

Saquinavir: Top Interactions at a Glance

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

Showing the 12 highest-ranked of 175 interacting ingredients — plus 1,277 more checked with no known interaction. See the complete ranked list.

Start here

The Major Interactions to Know About

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

Major Likelihood Likely Apple + Saquinaviri

Concomitant consumption of apple juice can significantly decrease oral absorption and blood levels of OATP substrates.

Read the full interaction Major Likelihood Likely Grapefruit + Saquinaviri

Grapefruit juice can increase levels of drugs metabolized by CYP3A4.

Read the full interaction Major Likelihood Likely St. John's Wort + Saquinaviri

St.

Read the full interaction Major Likelihood Likely Sweet Orange + Saquinaviri

Consuming sweet orange juice can decrease oral absorption of OATP substrates.

Read the full interaction Major Likelihood Probable Activated Charcoal + Saquinaviri

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

Read the full interaction
The complete list

Every Supplement Checked Against Saquinavir

All 1,452 ingredients in our database, ranked by severity — 175 with a Saquinavir interaction on file and 1,277 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 Saquinavir?

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 Gamma Butyrolactone (gbl) with Saquinavir?

Moderate Possibly, but carefully — this moderate-rated combination may need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separated timing. Concomitant use of GBL with saquinavir may potentiate adverse effects.

Full Gamma Butyrolactone (gbl) + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Blond Psyllium with Saquinavir?

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 + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Breadfruit with Saquinavir?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, breadfruit might inhibit cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) and increase levels of drugs metabolized by these enzymes; until more i...

Full Breadfruit + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Carob with Saquinavir?

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 + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Cascara Sagrada with Saquinavir?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, cascara sagrada might decrease the effects of CYP3A4 substrates.

Full Cascara Sagrada + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Celery with Saquinavir?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, celery might increase the risk of photosensitivity reactions when taken with photosensitizing drugs.

Full Celery + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Fucus Vesiculosus with Saquinavir?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, concomitant use of Fucus vesiculosus with CYP3A4 substrates might increase the risk for adverse effects.

Full Fucus Vesiculosus + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Hemp with Saquinavir?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, hemp might decrease the levels and clinical effects of CYP3A4 substrates.

Full Hemp + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Hibiscus Sabdariffa with Saquinavir?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, Hibiscus sabdariffa extract might reduce the metabolism of CYP3A4 substrates.

Full Hibiscus Sabdariffa + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Honey with Saquinavir?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, honey might decrease levels of drugs metabolized by CYP3A4, but research is conflicting.

Full Honey + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Hops with Saquinavir?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, hops extract might alter metabolism of CYP3A4 substrates; however, this effect may not be clinically significant.

Full Hops + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Karaya Gum with Saquinavir?

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 + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Marshmallow with Saquinavir?

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 + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Melatonin with Saquinavir?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, melatonin might increase levels of drugs metabolized by CYP3A4.

Full Melatonin + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Milk Thistle with Saquinavir?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Milk thistle may inhibit one form of OATP, OATP-B1, which could reduce the bioavailability and clinical effects of OATP-B1 substrates.

Full Milk Thistle + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Passion Flower with Saquinavir?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, passion flower might decrease the effects of CYP3A4 substrates.

Full Passion Flower + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Puravive with Saquinavir?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Puravive contains Panax ginseng.

Full Puravive + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Sesame with Saquinavir?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Theoretically, sesame might alter the transport of P-glycoprotein substrates.

Full Sesame + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Valerian with Saquinavir?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Valerian does not seem to have a clinically relevant effect on levels of drugs metabolized by CYP3A4.

Full Valerian + Saquinavir answer

Can you take Vitamin D with Saquinavir?

Minor Usually — this is a minor-rated interaction, generally not clinically significant but worth mentioning to your pharmacist. Vitamin D might induce CYP3A4 enzymes and reduce the bioavailability of CYP3A4 substrates.

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

Saquinavir sits in 8 interaction categories. Open any one to see what the group means:

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 Saquinavir through this category.

P-Glycoprotein Substrates 37 ingredients

A drug-transport group: these medications are moved in and out of cells by the P-glycoprotein pump. Supplements that affect the pump can change how much of the drug is absorbed or kept in the body.

37 of the supplement ingredients on this page reach Saquinavir through this category.

Photosensitizing Drugs 20 ingredients

Medications that make skin more sun-sensitive. Supplements with the same property can compound it.

20 of the supplement ingredients on this page reach Saquinavir 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 Saquinavir through this category.

Organic Anion-Transporting Polypeptide Substrates (Oatp) 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 Saquinavir through this category.

Cytochrome P450 3A4 (Cyp3A4) Inhibitors 13 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.

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

Saquinavir (Fortovase, Invirase) 5 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.

5 of the supplement ingredients on this page reach Saquinavir through this category.

Protease Inhibitors (Pis) 2 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.

2 of the supplement ingredients on this page reach Saquinavir through this category.

About Saquinavir

Saquinavir is a protease inhibitor used to treat HIV infection by reducing the amount of virus in the blood.

Generic name: Saquinavir  ·  Brand names: Invirase, Fortovase.

See the full Saquinavir drug information
Check a real product

Take a Supplement Product? Check the Whole Bottle Against Saquinavir

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 Saquinavir.

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Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Saquinavir & Supplements: Common Questions

What supplements interact with Saquinavir?
In our interaction database, 175 supplement and herbal ingredients have an interaction with Saquinavir on file — 5 rated major, 130 moderate, and 40 minor. That number sounds scarier than it is: severity matters far more than the count, which is why the list on this page is ranked instead of alphabetical. Start at the top. The highest-ranked right now: Apple, Grapefruit, St. John's Wort.
Which Saquinavir supplement interactions are the most serious?
The 5 major-rated combinations — led by Apple, Grapefruit, St. John's Wort, Sweet Orange and Activated Charcoal — 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 Saquinavir?
That depends entirely on which supplement. The honest answer for Saquinavir is in the ranked list above — and if what you take is a combination product with a dozen ingredients, don't check them one by one: photograph the label with our scanner and we'll check the whole thing at once. Try the label scanner or the interaction checker.
Do brands like Invirase have the same supplement interactions as Saquinavir?
Yes — Invirase, Fortovase all contain Saquinavir, 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 Saquinavir and my other medications?
This page covers Saquinavir against supplements and herbal ingredients. Checking Saquinavir 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 Saquinavir 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 22, 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.