Garlic Extract and medications.
Garlic Extract is in the Distil supplement database, evidence Grade A. The page below lists every medication we have explicitly assessed it against.
Below are the 6 documented pairs we have explicitly assessed for Garlic Extract: 6 amber. The pairs cluster around 1 mechanism: Additive antiplatelet effect. Every call is cited to either a clinical reference (PMID) or the British National Formulary. Anything not listed here is either still to be assessed or beyond our database scope. The checker beneath surfaces assessments by medication, and the missing-item form at the bottom of the page routes any uncatalogued medication into our next curation pass.
Documented interactions
Additive antiplatelet effect
Garlic has mild blood-thinning activity that can add to aspirin's. The combination is usually fine at culinary doses but stop high-dose garlic supplements at least a week before surgery.
Garlic has mild blood-thinning activity that can add to clopidogrel's. Stop high-dose garlic supplements at least a week before any surgery and tell your GP if you take garlic alongside clopidogrel long-term.
High-dose garlic extract has its own mild antiplatelet effect on top of diclofenac's. For occasional pain relief at standard doses, this is rarely a problem. For chronic NSAID use or pre-surgery, the combined effect can mean more bleeding and bruising.
High-dose garlic extract has its own mild antiplatelet effect on top of ibuprofen's. For occasional pain relief at standard doses, this is rarely a problem. For chronic NSAID use or pre-surgery, the combined effect can mean more bleeding and bruising. Stop garlic supplements at least one week before any planned surgery.
High-dose garlic extract has its own mild antiplatelet effect on top of naproxen's. For occasional pain relief at standard doses, this is rarely a problem. For chronic NSAID use or pre-surgery, the combined effect can mean more bleeding and bruising.
Garlic at supplement doses has a mild blood-thinning effect of its own. Combined with warfarin, that can shift INR. If you take both, mention the garlic supplement to whoever monitors your INR and do not stop or start without telling them.
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. Use the checker below to surface any medication, and submit a missing item if you take something we have not catalogued.
For adults over 18.
This tool gives evidence-graded information, not medical advice. Always discuss changes with your GP, pharmacist, or specialist before making them, especially if you take any medication, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have a serious health condition.
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 methodologySomething missing?
If a supplement or medication you take isn't in our autocomplete, tell us and we'll add it in the next quarterly update.