Supplements and Aspirin.
Aspirin, sold under the brand name Disprin, is an antiplatelet agent: it reduces platelet aggregation.
Aspirin at low dose (75mg) is prescribed for secondary cardiovascular prevention in around two million people in England. It sits at NHSBSA rank ten. The drug irreversibly acetylates COX-1 in platelets, blocking thromboxane A2 production for the platelet's seven to ten day lifespan. The supplement interactions that matter are additive antiplatelet. Ginkgo biloba, garlic in concentrated extract form and fish oil at higher doses have measurable platelet effects in human studies, and curcumin has them in laboratory and animal work. None individually changes bleeding risk much at OTC doses. But the stack matters, and the supplement washout before surgery, usually about two weeks, matters as much for someone already on aspirin. Any decision about the aspirin itself belongs with the prescriber rather than with a supplement schedule. The other surface is GI. Aspirin's gastric irritation profile combines with NSAIDs and, separately, with anything that further reduces protective prostaglandin signalling. Anyone on long aspirin therapy plus a stack of antiplatelet compounds benefits from explicit GP awareness, rather than discovering the combination at the dental appointment.
Below are the 11 documented pairs we have explicitly assessed against Aspirin in the Distil database: 11 caution. The pairs cluster around 1 mechanism: Additive antiplatelet effect. Every call is cited to either a clinical reference (PMID) or the British National Formulary. Anything not on this list is either still to be assessed or beyond our database scope. The checker beneath surfaces assessments by supplement, and the missing-item form at the bottom of the page routes any uncatalogued supplement into our next curation pass.
Documented interactions
Last reviewed 11 October 2026. Each interaction below lists the evidence its assessment drew on: some rest on studies of the exact pair, others on mechanism evidence, where a citation may support one part of the reasoning rather than the exact combination. The evidence line on each entry says which.
Additive antiplatelet effect
Caution Does Andrographis interact with Aspirin?
Andrographis has a mild blood-thinning signal in laboratory studies, so in theory it could add to aspirin's effect on platelets and slightly raise bleeding risk. A small one-day study in healthy people found no clear change, so any real effect looks modest. If you take aspirin, it is worth telling your doctor or pharmacist before starting andrographis, and watch for easy bruising or unusual bleeding.
Evidence: No direct study of this exact combination yet; the caution rests on a plausible mechanism or on reports involving a related medicine.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Caution Does Bromelain interact with Aspirin?
Bromelain has mild blood-thinning activity that can add to aspirin's. Watch for easy bruising or bleeding, and stop high-dose bromelain about two weeks before any planned surgery or dental procedure. The combination is usually fine at typical doses as long as you notice no unusual bruising or bleeding.
Evidence: Limited human data, from small studies or case reports.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Caution Does Curcumin interact with Aspirin?
Curcumin has a mild blood-thinning effect of its own, so taking it alongside aspirin may add to the bleeding risk. No study has measured how much the combination adds to bleeding risk, so it is worth stopping curcumin before any planned surgery or dental work and telling your GP you take it.
Evidence: No direct study of this exact combination yet; the caution rests on a plausible mechanism or on reports involving a related medicine.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Caution Does Fisetin interact with Aspirin?
Fisetin may mildly reduce how platelets clump, which could add a little to aspirin's blood-thinning effect. This is most relevant during a high-dose fisetin course rather than the small amount in food. If you take aspirin and run a fisetin course, mention it to your GP and watch for easy bruising or bleeding.
Evidence: No direct study of this exact combination yet; the caution rests on a plausible mechanism or on reports involving a related medicine.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Caution Does Garlic Extract interact with Aspirin?
Garlic has mild blood-thinning activity that can add to aspirin's. At culinary doses the combination is usually fine, and high-dose garlic supplements should be stopped at least two weeks before any planned surgery, with your surgical or dental team told you take them.
Evidence: Limited human data, from small studies or case reports.
Caution Does Ginger interact with Aspirin?
Ginger can mildly reduce platelet stickiness, and aspirin does the same thing through a different route, so in theory taking high-dose ginger supplements alongside aspirin could add to the blood-thinning effect. This is based on how ginger works in the laboratory rather than on studies of people taking both together, so the real-world effect is likely small. Normal dietary ginger is not a concern. If you take high-dose ginger supplements with aspirin, stop them at least two weeks before any planned surgery and tell your dentist or surgeon.
Evidence: No direct study of this exact combination yet; the caution rests on a plausible mechanism or on reports involving a related medicine.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Caution Does Ginkgo Biloba interact with Aspirin?
Both ginkgo and aspirin reduce platelet aggregation, so combining them increases bleeding risk additively. The combination is not catastrophic at typical doses, and it is worth stopping ginkgo at least two weeks before any planned surgery or dental procedure and telling the team you take it.
Evidence: Supported by human study data.
Caution Does Omega-3 EPA interact with Aspirin?
Standard supplement doses of fish oil (under 1 gram of EPA+DHA per day) add only marginally to the antiplatelet effect of aspirin. At higher cardiology doses (3 grams per day and above), the combination meaningfully increases bleeding risk. Tell your GP what dose you take.
Evidence: Limited human data, from small studies or case reports.
Caution Does Pine Bark Extract interact with Aspirin?
Pine bark extract (pycnogenol) has a mild blood-thinning effect of its own, most clearly shown in smokers, that can add to aspirin's. For most people the combined effect is no more than a small extra tendency to bruise or bleed, and it matters most before surgery. Stop high-dose pine bark extract at least two weeks before any planned procedure and tell your GP if you notice easy bruising.
Evidence: Limited human data, from small studies or case reports.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Caution Does Resveratrol interact with Aspirin?
Resveratrol can mildly reduce how platelets clump, which adds to aspirin's blood-thinning effect and may slightly raise bleeding risk. The amount in food is not the concern; concentrated supplements are. If you take aspirin and use resveratrol supplements, mention it to your GP and watch for easy bruising or bleeding.
Evidence: No direct study of this exact combination yet; the caution rests on a plausible mechanism or on reports involving a related medicine.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Caution Does Vitamin E interact with Aspirin?
At high doses (above 400 IU per day) vitamin E can add to aspirin's blood-thinning effect and raise bleeding risk, and a modest dose may add a little too: in a study inside a large vitamin E trial, men taking 50mg a day alongside aspirin had more bleeding from the gums than men taking neither. Use mixed-tocopherol products at modest doses and stop high-dose vitamin E at least two weeks before any surgery.
Evidence: Limited human data, from small studies or case reports.
What this list does not say. Pairs not flagged here are not implicitly safe. They are either not yet in our database, or fall outside our inclusion scope (food-supplement interactions only; for drug-drug interactions, the BNF is authoritative). Use the checker below to surface any supplement, and submit a missing item if you take something we have not catalogued.
No affiliates. No commission. We earn nothing on what you buy.
How the checker decides
Every result has a source
Each pair we have assessed is cited to a published study (PMID) or the British National Formulary, so you can read the source yourself.
Four kinds of answer
Severe, caution, no known interaction, and not yet assessed. A pair we have not assessed is never shown as clear.
- Severe
- Caution
- No known interaction
- Not yet assessed
Nothing in our data is not a clearance
When nothing in our data records a problem with a pair, the result says no known interaction at typical doses, which is not a clearance: your pharmacist or GP can check the pair against your full medical history.
A full supplement review, built around you, not a generic stack.
The free checker answers one interaction question at a time. A Distil report reviews the bigger picture: your goals, diet, medications, current supplements and any blood results you provide, then shows what appears worth keeping, changing, adding or leaving out.
- what your diet already covers, so you are not adding a capsule for something food is already handling
- which evidence-graded compounds are worth considering for your goals, and which were considered but left out
- what to keep, change or stop from what you already take, plus the order to introduce anything new
- how your medications and complete supplement stack fit together, with daily timing and a clear point for reassessment
The interaction check is one section of the full report. You also get the reasoning behind each recommendation and the evidence references used.
£49 until 30 June 2027 · £79 from 1 July 2027.
Something missing?
If a supplement or medication you take isn't in our autocomplete, tell us. What people flag joins the queue of what we add next.