Medication · other drugs for dementia

Supplements and Donepezil hydrochloride.

Every documented pair, every citation. Below: 1 documented pair grouped by mechanism.

Donepezil hydrochloride, sold under the brand name Aricept, is classified under "drugs for dementia" in the BNF.

Donepezil hydrochloride (UK brand names Aricept) sits at NHSBSA prescribing rank 102 in the 2024/25 PCA statistics. The BNF classifies it under "drugs for dementia". This means it sits outside the high-volume therapeutic classes (statins, PPIs, ACE inhibitors, SSRIs) where supplement-interaction surfaces are densely studied, and the published evidence base for specific supplement pairs is correspondingly thinner. Where interactions are documented in the Distil database, they are listed below with their clinical-reference citation; where pairs have not been explicitly assessed, the missing-item form at the bottom of the page routes them into our next curation pass. Anyone combining Donepezil hydrochloride with a regular supplement stack benefits from explicit GP or pharmacist awareness rather than assuming no interaction exists by default.

Below are the 1 documented pair we have explicitly assessed against Donepezil hydrochloride in the Distil database: 1 red. The pairs cluster around 1 mechanism: Additive cholinergic 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

Additive cholinergic effect

Red Huperzine A

Huperzine A and donepezil both raise acetylcholine by blocking the same enzyme, so taking them together can stack their effects and lead to cholinergic side effects like a slow heart rate, nausea, diarrhoea, muscle cramps or, rarely, more serious problems. We treat this as a do-not-combine pair outside specialist supervision.

PMID 18425924 · PMID 19221692 · BNF: Donepezil

Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.

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.

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For adults over 18. This tool gives evidence-graded information, not medical advice. Always discuss changes with your GP, especially if you take any medication, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have a serious health condition.

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How we decide

How we grade severity, choose what's in scope, and what we exclude.

Every call on this page is reasoned. We publish the full rubric for severity tiers, the medication inclusion logic, the evidence grades we accept, and what we deliberately leave out. About three thousand words. Worth reading once if you use this tool more than occasionally.

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Your whole stack

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the same graded, cited interaction check across your whole stack, not just the pairs you thought to type in
where your current routine may be leaving you short of your goals
the evidence-backed compounds worth adding, and the ones worth dropping

It's a paid report: £79, or £49 for the first 25 customers. The interactions check is one section of it, and you can read a real one in full before you buy.

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Something missing?

If a supplement or medication you take isn't in our autocomplete, tell us. We go through what people flag every week and add what's missing.

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Distil's interactions database is reviewed and updated every quarter. We grade evidence transparently and publish our methodology, including every database change, at /about/methodology. This tool is information, not a substitute for clinical judgement. If you take medication and supplements together, your GP or pharmacist can review your full regimen against your medical history. If you want a full personalised stack reasoned against this same database, the Distil report is the next step up.