Supplement · Considered, not recommended

Yohimbe and medications.

Why it sits outside our recommendations, and what to consider instead.

Yohimbe is not in the Distil recommendation database. We surface it here deliberately, because why a compound is left out is as useful as what we recommend.

Yohimbe bark, and its active alkaloid yohimbine, sits outside the Distil database for two reasons. First, the cardiovascular profile. It raises blood pressure and heart rate and can trigger anxiety and palpitations, and at higher intakes more serious cardiac effects. The gap between a dose that does something and a dose that causes problems is narrow.

Second, unstandardised yohimbe bark products vary widely in how much yohimbine they actually contain, so the dose you take is often unknown. It also interacts with MAOIs and stimulant medicines. A narrow safety margin plus unreliable labelling is why we leave it out. The better-behaved options below depend on what you were reaching for it to do.

What to consider instead. Every option below is in the Distil database, so you can check each against your own medications:

L-Theanine: pairs well with caffeine for calm focus, no cardiovascular load
Rhodiola Rosea: an adaptogen for fatigue and stress; check it against any serotonergic medicine

We still hold the documented interactions for Yohimbe, which is why it stays in the interactions checker even though we do not recommend it. Below are the 2 documented pairs we have explicitly assessed: 2 amber. Every call is cited to a clinical reference (PMID) or the British National Formulary.

Documented interactions

Last reviewed 14 May 2026. Each interaction below lists the evidence its assessment drew on: some rest on studies of the exact pair, others on mechanism evidence, where a citation may support one part of the reasoning rather than the exact combination. The evidence line on each entry says which.

Additive sympathomimetic activity

Amber Does interact with Rasagiline?

Yohimbe raises blood pressure and noradrenaline. Combined with rasagiline (a Parkinson's MAO-B inhibitor), it can push blood pressure unpredictably high. We would not recommend combining without specialist supervision.

Evidence: Limited human data, based on case reports and a known mechanism.

BNF: Rasagiline

Amber Does interact with Selegiline?

Yohimbe raises blood pressure and noradrenaline. Combined with selegiline, it can push blood pressure unpredictably high. We would not recommend combining without specialist supervision.

Evidence: Limited human data, based on case reports and a known mechanism.

BNF: Selegiline

What this page does not say. Leaving a compound out of our recommendations is not a verdict that it is useless for everyone. It is a statement about safety, evidence, or interaction load in the context Distil screens for. Discuss any supplement decision with whoever manages your prescriptions.

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For adults over 18. This tool gives evidence-graded information, not medical advice. Always discuss changes with your GP or pharmacist, 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.

Read the full methodology

The full report

A full supplement review, built around you, not a generic stack.

The free checker answers one interaction question at a time. A Distil report reviews the bigger picture: your goals, diet, medications, current supplements and any blood results you provide, then shows what appears worth keeping, changing, adding or leaving out.

what your diet already covers, so you are not adding a capsule for something food is already handling
which evidence-graded compounds are worth considering for your goals, and which were considered but left out
what to keep, change or stop from what you already take, plus the order to introduce anything new
how your medications and complete supplement stack fit together, with daily timing and a clear point for reassessment

The interaction check is one section of the full report. You also get the reasoning behind each recommendation and the evidence references used.

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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.