Supplements and Ethinylestradiol with drospirenone.
Ethinylestradiol with drospirenone, sold under the brand names Yasmin, Lucette, Yacella, Dretine, Eloine, is a combined oral contraceptive: it provides oestrogen and progestogen for ovulation suppression and cycle control.
Ethinylestradiol with drospirenone is a combined oral contraceptive, providing oestrogen and progestogen for ovulation suppression and cycle control. The class is metabolised by CYP3A4 in the liver. That is where the supplement surface sits. St John's Wort induces CYP3A4 strongly enough to reduce contraceptive efficacy. The BNF and MHRA both flag this, and the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare advises against the combination. Several other strong CYP3A4 inducers (rifampicin, certain antiepileptics) carry the same concern. Among supplements at standard doses the signal is much smaller, but at high doses some 3A4-active compounds may have a marginal effect. The other clinically important issue is the venous thromboembolism risk profile. Third-generation progestogens carry a slightly higher VTE signal than second-generation. Any supplement decision in a patient at high VTE risk (smoker, obesity, family history) should account for the baseline.
Below are the 3 documented pairs we have explicitly assessed against Ethinylestradiol with drospirenone in the Distil database: 1 severe and 2 caution. The pairs cluster around 3 mechanisms: CYP3A4 induction, Additive hyperkalaemia (raised potassium), and Hormonal axis modulation. 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 9 November 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.
CYP3A4 induction
Severe Does St John's Wort interact with Ethinylestradiol with drospirenone?
St John's Wort can reduce the contraceptive reliability of the combined pill. Breakthrough bleeding is the warning sign, and unintended pregnancies have been reported on this combination. We treat this as a do-not-combine pair.
Evidence: Supported by human study data.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Additive hyperkalaemia (raised potassium)
Caution Does Potassium interact with Ethinylestradiol with drospirenone?
Drospirenone, the progestogen in this pill, works a little like the water tablet spironolactone and can make your body hold on to potassium. Adding a potassium supplement may push your potassium level higher, especially if your kidneys are not working at full strength or you also take a blood pressure medicine that raises potassium. Talk to your GP before taking a potassium supplement; a blood test can check your level.
Evidence: Supported by human study data.
Hormonal axis modulation
Caution Does Vitex interact with Ethinylestradiol with drospirenone?
Vitex (chasteberry) acts on the body's hormone signals: it lowers prolactin and, in lab studies, gently nudges oestrogen and progesterone receptors. The combined pill works by holding your hormones at set levels, so in theory vitex could work against that balance, and the pill's hormones could equally blunt what vitex is meant to do. There is no study showing the pill actually fails when vitex is added, so this is a caution rather than a firm warning. If you take the combined pill, mention vitex to your prescriber before adding it, and treat any breakthrough bleeding as a reason to check in.
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.
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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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.
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