Supplements and Tacrolimus.
Tacrolimus, sold under the brand names Prograf, Advagraf, is a calcineurin inhibitor used as a post-transplant immunosuppressant. The therapeutic window is narrow and CYP3A4-substrate-driven.
Tacrolimus is a calcineurin inhibitor immunosuppressant. It is used after organ transplantation (kidney, liver, heart, lung) and in some autoimmune indications. The therapeutic window is narrow. Too little allows rejection. Too much drives nephrotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and diabetes. Trough blood levels are checked frequently in the early period after transplant, less often as the regimen stabilises. Tacrolimus is metabolised almost entirely by CYP3A4 in the gut and liver. That makes the CYP3A4-active supplement list a hard exclude in the Distil pipeline. Curcumin (even at standard supplement doses), quercetin at high doses, resveratrol, schisandra, St John's Wort, and bergamot extract all show measurable effects on calcineurin inhibitor plasma levels. Pomelo and Seville orange carry the same warning as grapefruit. Immune-stimulating supplements (echinacea, andrographis, elderberry, cordyceps, astragalus) are also excluded on the principle that they work against the drug. The transplant team is the gatekeeper for any new supplement, not the GP.
Below are the 20 documented pairs we have explicitly assessed against Tacrolimus in the Distil database: 8 red and 12 amber. The pairs cluster around 6 mechanisms: Additive hyperkalaemia (raised potassium), CYP induction, CYP3A4 inhibition, Immune-stimulant vs immunosuppressant (precautionary), Immunosuppression caution, and Nrf2 + CYP 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
Additive hyperkalaemia (raised potassium)
Tacrolimus tends to raise blood potassium by reducing how much the kidneys pass out. A potassium supplement adds more potassium on top, and together they can push potassium high enough to affect the heart rhythm, which can be dangerous. People on tacrolimus are usually under specialist or transplant follow-up with regular blood tests, so do not add a potassium supplement unless that team has specifically advised it and is checking your blood potassium.
CYP induction
St John's Wort can cause your body to clear tacrolimus too quickly, dropping its level below the protective range and raising rejection risk. Do not combine.
CYP3A4 inhibition
Berberine can slow how the body clears tacrolimus, which may push tacrolimus blood levels higher than intended. We treat this as a do-not-combine pair outside direct transplant-team supervision.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Bergamot belongs to the grapefruit-family citrus group and can slow how the body clears tacrolimus, which may push tacrolimus blood levels higher than intended. We treat this as a do-not-combine pair outside direct transplant-team supervision.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Curcumin can slow how the body clears tacrolimus, which may push tacrolimus blood levels higher than intended. We treat this as a do-not-combine pair outside direct transplant-team supervision.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Quercetin can slow how the body clears tacrolimus, which may push tacrolimus blood levels higher than intended. We treat this as a do-not-combine pair outside direct transplant-team supervision.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Resveratrol can slow how the body clears tacrolimus, which may push tacrolimus blood levels higher than intended. We treat this as a do-not-combine pair outside direct transplant-team supervision.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Schisandra slows how the body clears tacrolimus and can raise tacrolimus blood levels several times over, which risks toxicity. Do not combine the two outside direct transplant-team supervision.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Immune-stimulant vs immunosuppressant (precautionary)
Tacrolimus works by calming the immune system down, which is what stops your body rejecting a transplant or quietens an autoimmune condition. Ashwagandha has been reported to do the opposite and gently stimulate the immune system. There is no proof the two clash in people, but because the stakes with a transplant or autoimmune disease are high, it is safer not to start ashwagandha while you take tacrolimus without first talking to your transplant or specialist team.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Tacrolimus works by calming the immune system down, which is what stops your body rejecting a transplant or quietens an autoimmune condition. Beta-glucan from mushrooms or yeast does the opposite and gently stimulates the immune system. There is no proof the two clash in people, but because the stakes with a transplant or autoimmune disease are high, it is safer not to start beta-glucan while you take tacrolimus without first talking to your transplant or specialist team.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Tacrolimus works by calming the immune system down, which is what stops your body rejecting a transplant or quietens an autoimmune condition. Elderberry is taken to support the immune system and has been shown to stimulate it. There is no proof the two clash in people, but because the stakes with a transplant or autoimmune disease are high, it is safer not to start elderberry while you take tacrolimus without first talking to your transplant or specialist team.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Eleuthero (Siberian ginseng) is taken to stimulate the immune system, which in theory works against a medicine like tacrolimus that is meant to suppress it. This has not been tested in people taking immune-suppressing medicines, so it is a cautious flag rather than a strong warning. If you take tacrolimus after a transplant or for an autoimmune condition, check with your specialist before starting eleuthero.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Melatonin can stimulate parts of the immune system, which in theory works against medicines like tacrolimus that are deliberately suppressing it, for example after a transplant. There is no direct study of the two together, but because the stakes are high it is best not to start melatonin without clearing it with the team that manages your tacrolimus.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Spirulina can stimulate parts of the immune system, which in theory works against a medicine like tacrolimus that is meant to suppress it. This has not been tested in people taking immune-suppressing medicines, so it is a cautious flag rather than a strong warning. If you take tacrolimus after a transplant or for an autoimmune condition, check with your specialist before starting spirulina.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Immunosuppression caution
If you take a medicine that suppresses your immune system, check with your specialist before starting any probiotic. The pasteurised (non-living) form used here lowers the usual concern, but immune data are incomplete, so a quick word with your team is the safe route.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Andrographis is taken to stimulate the immune system, which in theory works against a medicine like tacrolimus that is meant to calm it. There is also a separate concern that andrographis may slow how the body clears tacrolimus and push its blood levels up. The human evidence for both effects is thin, so for a narrow-window transplant medicine the safe route is to check with your transplant team before starting.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Bifidobacterium longum 1714 is a live bacterium, and for most people it is safe. But tacrolimus strongly dampens the immune system, usually after a transplant or for a serious autoimmune condition, and in people whose defences are this weakened there have been rare cases of a probiotic organism getting into the bloodstream and causing an infection. If you take tacrolimus, check with your specialist team before starting this strain, and avoid it if you are seriously unwell in hospital or have a central line or drip.
Cordyceps is often taken to support the immune system, but the human transplant studies actually show it adds to immune suppression rather than working against it, and it can change how much calcineurin-inhibitor medicine your body needs. Because tacrolimus has a narrow safe range, taking cordyceps on your own could shift your levels without anyone watching. Do not start or stop it without your transplant team, who can adjust monitoring if needed.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Probiotics are live bacteria or yeast, and for most people they are safe. But tacrolimus strongly dampens the immune system, usually after a transplant or for a serious autoimmune condition, and in people whose defences are this weakened there have been rare cases of the probiotic organism getting into the bloodstream and causing an infection. If you take tacrolimus, check with your specialist team before starting a probiotic, and avoid them if you are seriously unwell in hospital or have a central line or drip.
Nrf2 + CYP modulation
Sulforaphane activates a body-wide antioxidant pathway (Nrf2) that can also subtly affect liver enzymes responsible for clearing tacrolimus. The effect at supplement doses is uncertain, but for a narrow-window drug like tacrolimus the cautious path is to discuss with your transplant team before starting.
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.
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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- the evidence-backed compounds worth adding, and the ones worth dropping
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