Medication · hiv protease inhibitor

Supplements and Lopinavir.

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

Lopinavir, sold under the brand name Kaletra, is classified under "hiv protease inhibitor" in the BNF.

Lopinavir (UK brand names Kaletra) sits in the Distil medication database. The BNF classifies it under "hiv protease inhibitor". 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 Lopinavir 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 Lopinavir in the Distil database: 1 red. The pairs cluster around 1 mechanism: CYP3A4 induction. 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

CYP3A4 induction

Red St John's Wort

St John's Wort speeds up how the body clears HIV protease inhibitors like lopinavir (Kaletra), which can drop the drug level too low to control the virus and let HIV become resistant. This is a serious interaction and these medicines should not be combined. If you take lopinavir, do not start St John's Wort, and if you already take both, tell your HIV team before changing anything.

PMID 10683007 · BNF: Lopinavir

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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This page checks the pairs you enter. A personalised Distil report applies the same graded, cited reasoning to your whole stack: your goals, conditions, medications, diet, and the compounds worth adding or dropping. The interactions check is one section of it. You can read a real one in full before you decide.

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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.

Thanks, that's logged. We go through flagged items every week.

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.