Supplements and Trazodone hydrochloride.
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 7 documented pairs we have explicitly assessed against Trazodone hydrochloride in the Distil database: 7 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.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Additive serotonergic activity
5-HTP is the direct building block your body turns into serotonin, and trazodone is an antidepressant that also acts on serotonin. Combining them may add to your serotonin activity, which can in theory raise the risk of serotonin syndrome (agitation, sweating, tremor, fast heartbeat, confusion). It is worth telling your GP you take 5-HTP and watching for those symptoms, particularly after a dose change.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Tryptophan is the building block your body uses to make serotonin, so adding it to trazodone raises serotonin from both directions. The combination can cause agitation, sweating, tremor, shivering, muscle twitching, or a racing heart. Do not stack them without your GP's involvement.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
Rhodiola has a mild effect on serotonin pathways, and trazodone raises serotonin as part of how it works. In theory, taking them together could add to that effect. Most people tolerate the combination, but watch for restlessness, sweating, tremor, or a racing heart, and talk to your GP before stacking them, especially if your dose has recently changed.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
SAMe has its own antidepressant, serotonin-related activity, and trazodone is a serotonergic antidepressant too. Taking them together may add to that serotonin effect. Most people tolerate the combination, but watch for restlessness, sweating, tremor, shivering, or a racing heart, and tell your GP before stacking them, especially if your trazodone dose has recently changed.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
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.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
St John's Wort and trazodone both act on serotonin, so combining them may raise the risk of serotonin syndrome (agitation, sweating, tremor, confusion). Talk to your GP or pharmacist before taking them together.
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.
Read the full methodologyWant this checked across everything you take?
This page checks the pairs you enter. The personalised Distil report goes further:
- the same graded, cited interaction check across your whole stack, not just the pairs you thought to type in
- where your current routine may be leaving you short of your goals
- the evidence-backed compounds worth adding, and the ones worth dropping
It's a paid report: £79, or £49 for the first 25 customers. The interactions check is one section of it, and you can read a real one in full before you buy.
See a real sample reportSomething 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.