Interactions

Ginkgo may react with many medicines. Check with your pharmacist before taking ginkgo with any medicine.

Possible interactions include:

• Alprazolam (Xanax). This medicine relieves symptoms of anxiety. Taking ginkgo with it might keep the medicine from working as well.
• Anticoagulants and antiplatelet drugs, herbs and supplements. These types of medicines, herbs and supplements lessen blood clotting. Taking ginkgo with them might raise the risk of bleeding.
• Anticonvulsants and seizure threshold-lowering medicines, herbs and supplements. Large amounts of ginkgo can cause seizures. Taking ginkgo could keep an anticonvulsant medicine from working as well.
• Antidepressants. Taking ginkgo with certain antidepressants, such as fluoxetine (Prozac), might keep them from working as well.
• Some statins. Taking ginkgo with simvastatin (Zocor, Flolipid) might keep the medicine from working as well. Ginkgo also appears to lower the effects of atorvastatin (Lipitor, Atorvaliq).
• Diabetes medicines. Ginkgo might change how people with diabetes respond to these medicines.
• Ibuprofen. Using ginkgo with ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) may increase bleeding risk.