The short answer
No studies found. We searched for studies of giloy (guduchi, Tinospora cordifolia) with blood pressure medicines such as amlodipine, telmisartan and losartan, and found none that tested them together. So it is not known whether giloy changes these drugs or adds to their effect.
Giloy has its own liver risk, separate from any interaction. The US liver injury database LiverTox calls it a well-established cause of liver injury, and a study from 13 Indian centres described 43 people with liver injury linked to giloy, four of whom died. If you take a blood pressure medicine, tell your prescribing doctor before you start giloy.
Sold in India as Telma (telmisartan), Amlong (amlodipine), Cardace (ramipril) and Met XL (metoprolol), among others.
At a glance
| What was seen | How it may work | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liver injury linked to giloy in 43 people across 13 Indian centres[1][3] | Immune-mediated injury suspected | Hepatitis, sometimes severe; not an interaction with blood pressure drugs | Observational |
| Autoimmune-like hepatitis after giloy in six people[2] | May trigger or unmask autoimmune liver disease | Hepatitis; not an interaction with blood pressure drugs | Case report |
No listing is not a clearance. A missing interaction here never means a combination is safe.
The evidence, study by study
Study across 13 Indian centres, 2022 Observational
Doctors looked back at 43 people who developed liver injury after taking giloy between April 2020 and July 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Symptoms began a median of 46 days after starting it, and giloy was judged the probable cause in 67.4%. Four people died and two needed a liver transplant. People on medicines already known to harm the liver were left out, but some products contained other herbs, none of these people were studied on blood pressure medicines, and it cannot say how common the injury is.[1]
Case series, 2021 Case report
Six people developed liver injury after taking giloy as an immune booster during the 2020 pandemic, for a median of 90 days. Four were women, the median age was 55, and the median peak bilirubin, the pigment behind jaundice, was 17.5 mg/dL. Liver biopsies looked like autoimmune hepatitis, and four people may have had a hidden autoimmune liver disease that giloy brought out. Six cases cannot show how often this happens.[2]
What your doctor may watch for
- Blood pressure and any dizziness, as part of your usual review.[4]
- Yellowing of the eyes or skin (jaundice) after starting giloy. LiverTox lists giloy as a well-established cause of liver injury.[3]
What to tell your prescribing doctor
You can read this out, or show them this page:
“I take a blood pressure medicine (name and dose), and I am taking, or planning to take, giloy (juice, tablets, powder or kadha, and how much). It has not been studied with blood pressure medicines, and it can cause liver injury on its own. Should my liver tests or blood pressure be checked?”
Withheld until review
Questions people ask
Related
Giloy with metformin or insulin
Not tested in people. In rats, two weeks of giloy extract raised metformin levels. Giloy also carries its own risk of liver injury.
InteractionGiloy and paracetamol (Dolo, Crocin)
Not tested together. Giloy is a known cause of liver injury, and the paracetamol label warns people with liver disease. The combined effect is unknown.
InteractionGarlic (lahsun) and blood pressure medicines
Aged garlic extract lowered blood pressure further in people already on BP medicines whose pressure was still high. It adds to the drugs' effect.
InteractionArjuna and blood pressure medicines
Arjuna capsules lowered blood pressure further in people taking telmisartan, in one small 28-day trial. Other BP drugs are untested.
Sources
- Kulkarni AV, Hanchanale P, Prakash V, Kalal C, Sharma M, Kumar K, Bishnu S, Kulkarni AV, Anand L, Patwa AK, Kumbar S, Kainth S, Philips CA; Liver Research Club India. Tinospora cordifolia (giloy)-induced liver injury during the COVID-19 pandemic: multicenter nationwide study from India. Hepatol Commun. 2022;6:1289-1300. PMID 35037744.
- Nagral A, Adhyaru K, Rudra OS, Gharat A, Bhandare S. Herbal immune booster-induced liver injury in the COVID-19 pandemic: a case series. J Clin Exp Hepatol. 2021;11:732-738. PMID 34230786.
- LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury. Tinospora. Updated 27 June 2025.
- Amlodipine besylate tablets, US prescribing information (DailyMed).
Awaiting review by The Good Vaidya Medical Board. Prepared from the sources below and checked against each one.
Published 4 November 2026 · Last updated 4 November 2026
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