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Turmeric Drug Interactions
Several medications could interact with turmeric. Drug interactions may occur if turmeric is combined with certain antiplatelet or anticoagulant medications, including aspirin, heparin, or NSAIDs. Turmeric drug interactions could increase the risk of bleeding, including dangerous internal bleeding. If you are taking any of these medications, make sure to talk to your healthcare provider before using turmeric.
Turmeric might interact with medications that "thin" the blood, increasing the risk of bleeding (especially when turmeric is used at medicinal doses, which are higher than amounts usually used in foods). Some of these antiplatelet or anticoagulant medications that could lead to turmeric drug interactions include:
- Antithrombin (ATryn®, Thrombate III®)
- Argatroban
- Aspirin (Bayer® and others)
- Bivalirudin (Angiomax®)
- Cilostazol (Pletal®)
- Clopidogrel (Plavix®)
- Dabigatran etexilate mesylate (Pradaxa®)
- Dipyridamole (Persantine®)
- Drotrecogin alfa (Xigris®)
- Eptifibatide (Integrilin®)
- Fondaparinux (Arixtra®)
- Heparin or heparin-like products, including dalteparin (Fragmin®), enoxaparin (Lovenox®), or tinzaparin (Innohep®)
- Lepirudin (Refludan®)
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as:
- Celecoxib (Celebrex®)
- Diclofenac (Cambia™, Cataflam®, Flector®, Solaraze® Gel, Voltaren®, Voltaren® Gel, Voltaren®-XR, Voltaren Ophthalmic®, Zipsor™)
- Ibuprofen (Motrin®, Advil®, Nuprin®)
- Indomethacin (Indocin®, Indocin SR®)
- Ketoprofen (Orudis®, Actron®, Oruvail®)
- Ketorolac (Toradol®)
- Meloxicam (Mobic®)
- Naproxen (Naprosyn®) or naproxen sodium (Aleve®, Anaprox®, Naprelan®)
- Several others (see List of NSAIDs for a more complete list of these medications)
- Prasugrel (Effient®)
- Rivaroxaban (Xarelto®)
- Thrombolytics, such as:
- Alteplase (Activase®)
- Reteplase (Retavase®)
- Streptokinase (Streptase®)
- Tenecteplase (TNKase®)
- Ticagrelor (Brilinta™)
- Ticlopidine (Ticlid®)
- Tirofiban (Aggrastat®)
- Warfarin (Coumadin®, Jantoven®).
Combining turmeric with such "blood thinners" could possible increase the risk of bleeding, including dangerous internal bleeding (such as bleeding in the brain). If you take any of these medications, it is probably a good idea to consult your healthcare provider before taking turmeric.
Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD