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Medication · antidepressant other

Supplements and Trazodone hydrochloride.

Every documented pair, every citation. Below: 2 documented pairs grouped by mechanism.

Trazodone hydrochloride, sold under the brand name Molipaxin, is an antidepressant: depending on the agent, it acts on serotonin, noradrenaline, or both.

Trazodone hydrochloride sits in the BNF "other antidepressants" group. The group includes the SNRIs (venlafaxine, duloxetine), the atypicals (mirtazapine, agomelatine, vortioxetine), and the older tetracyclics. The clinical class matters more than the BNF group, because the supplement profile differs sharply across it. SNRIs share the SSRI serotonergic concerns. Mirtazapine sits closer to the sedating, appetite-stimulating profile. Agomelatine is heavily liver-metabolised with mandatory LFT monitoring. Where these antidepressants share a supplement surface, it is St John's Wort (hard exclude across the class), 5-HTP (hard exclude on serotonergic grounds), and any supplement with significant sedating or activating effect depending on the agent. Discontinuation profiles differ too. Venlafaxine has the heaviest withdrawal syndrome of common antidepressants. Agomelatine probably the lightest.

Below are the 2 documented pairs we have explicitly assessed against Trazodone hydrochloride in the Distil database: 2 amber. The pairs cluster around 2 mechanisms: Additive CNS depression and Additive serotonergic activity. 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 CNS depression

There is a report of an older person with Alzheimer's disease falling into a coma after taking ginkgo with a low dose of trazodone. The person recovered. If you take trazodone, it is safer not to add ginkgo without discussing it with your GP first, especially in older adults.

PMID 10836866 · PMID 11772128 · PMID 15916450 · BNF: Trazodone

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

Additive serotonergic activity

Saffron has its own mild antidepressant effect that appears to act on serotonin, and trazodone is a serotonergic antidepressant. Taking them together may add to that serotonin effect. Most people tolerate it, but discuss it with your GP before stacking, especially if your dose has recently changed.

PMID 15852492 · PMID 36678554 · BNF: Trazodone

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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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.