Supplements and Pravastatin sodium.
Pravastatin sodium, sold under the brand names Lipostat, Pravachol, is a statin: it lowers LDL cholesterol by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase. Statins are the most-prescribed class in the UK.
Pravastatin sodium is a statin, an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor. The class lowers LDL cholesterol mainly at the lowest dose. Returns diminish above the 40mg-equivalent point. The defining adverse effect is myalgia that scales with dose, occasionally with CK elevation on a blood draw. CYP3A4 metabolism varies sharply across the class. Simvastatin sits at the highest sensitivity, rosuvastatin at the lowest. The supplement profile is therefore statin-specific, not uniform across the class. Where supplements meet statins, the main signals are additive lipid lowering (berberine, plant sterols, red yeast rice) and additive myopathy risk with niacin at high doses. Anyone starting a CYP3A4-active supplement (curcumin, quercetin, schisandra, bergamot extract) on top of a CYP3A4-sensitive statin benefits from a lipid panel and CK check sooner than the usual annual review.
Below are the 3 documented pairs we have explicitly assessed against Pravastatin sodium in the Distil database: 1 amber and 2 green. The pairs cluster around 3 mechanisms: Additive HMG-CoA reductase inhibition, Additive lipid lowering, and Statin-induced CoQ10 depletion. 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 14 June 2026. Each interaction below is assessed against PubMed-indexed evidence.
Additive HMG-CoA reductase inhibition
Amber Does Bergamot Extract (BPF / Bergavit40) interact with ?
Bergamot's active flavonoids inhibit the same liver enzyme pravastatin targets, so combining them has overlapping mechanisms and no proven additive benefit. Pravastatin is less affected by grapefruit-family citrus than other statins because it is not CYP3A4-metabolised, so the main concern is the redundant mechanism rather than blood-level effects.
Evidence: Limited human data, based on case reports and a known mechanism.
Additive lipid lowering
Green Does Beta-Glucan interact with ?
Oat beta-glucan lowers LDL cholesterol by trapping bile acids in the gut, a different route from how a statin works. Taking the two together is complementary, not a harmful clash, and the small extra cholesterol reduction is a benefit. We treat this pair as safe to combine.
Evidence: Supported by human study data.
Statin-induced CoQ10 depletion
Green Does Coenzyme Q10 interact with ?
Statins do reduce plasma CoQ10 levels, but the best-quality randomised trials show that taking CoQ10 alongside a statin does not reliably reduce muscle pain or improve other statin side effects. We treat the pair as safe to combine. If you find it helps you personally that is fine, but the evidence for routine use is weak.
Evidence: Well established across multiple human studies or interaction references.
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 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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