From the Guidelines
Turmeric can interact with several medications, including blood thinners, diabetes medications, and acid-reducing medications, and its use should be carefully considered before supplementation. Turmeric may increase the risk of bleeding when taken with blood thinners like warfarin, aspirin, clopidogrel, and other anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs due to its blood-thinning properties, as it has been shown to prolong activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and prothrombin time (PT) 1. It can also enhance the effects of diabetes medications such as metformin or insulin, potentially causing hypoglycemia, as patients given 2,000 mg/d of turmeric for 4 weeks showed significant decreases in fasting glucose and HbA1c 1. When combined with acid-reducing medications like omeprazole or famotidine, turmeric might increase stomach acid production, reducing these medications' effectiveness. Additionally, turmeric may interact with certain chemotherapy drugs, potentially interfering with their action. The active compound in turmeric, curcumin, can also affect how the liver processes many medications, either increasing or decreasing their effectiveness, as it has been shown to inhibit 25%-75% activity of CYP1A2, CYP2D6, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP3A4 1. If you're taking any prescription medications, especially those mentioned above, consult with your healthcare provider before adding turmeric supplements to your regimen. While cooking with turmeric as a spice generally poses minimal risk, concentrated supplements contain much higher doses that are more likely to cause interactions.
Some key points to consider when taking turmeric supplements include:
- Discontinuing supplements that could affect hemostasis or sedation should be considered as soon as possible, ideally 1 to 2 weeks before surgery 1
- Turmeric may increase the risk of bleeding when taken with blood thinners, and its use should be carefully considered before supplementation
- Turmeric may enhance the effects of diabetes medications, potentially causing hypoglycemia
- Turmeric may interact with certain chemotherapy drugs, potentially interfering with their action
- The active compound in turmeric, curcumin, can affect how the liver processes many medications, either increasing or decreasing their effectiveness.
It is essential to consult with a healthcare provider before adding turmeric supplements to your regimen, especially if you are taking any prescription medications.
From the Research
Turmeric Interactions with Other Medications
- There is limited research on the interactions between turmeric and other medications, but some studies suggest that turmeric may interact with certain drugs, such as warfarin 2.
- Turmeric's active constituent, curcumin, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which may enhance the effects of certain medications or increase the risk of bleeding when taken with anticoagulants like warfarin 3, 4.
- A systematic review of randomized controlled trials found that turmeric or curcumin did not significantly decrease levels of inflammatory markers, but the study did not investigate interactions with other medications 5.
- Another review discussed the bioactive effects and safety profiles of turmeric and curcumin for food, pharmaceutical, biotechnological, and medicinal applications, but did not provide information on interactions with specific medications 6.
- The interaction between turmeric and warfarin is not well-studied, but a review of drug-drug interactions with warfarin found that certain medications, including antiplatelet agents and NSAIDs, increased the risk of bleeding when taken with warfarin 2.