The short answer
The added bleeding risk from garlic supplements with meclofenamate is uncertain. Review the exact product, dose and your bleeding history with your prescriber.
What this answer covers
Oral garlic supplements with oral meclofenamate sodium capsules. Exact formulation, dose and duration matter; other NSAIDs and other supplement preparations are not interchangeable.
- Supplement or preparation
- Allium sativum
- Medication ingredient
- meclofenamate
What the evidence shows
One study of a garlic tablet product found no significant platelet aggregation change, but participants reported menstrual or nasal bleeding. The garlic phase followed an aspirin washout and excluded NSAIDs, so it did not measure this combination.
Consider this medicine’s own effects
The current sodium-capsule label reports little or no platelet or bleeding-time effect in a one-week healthy-volunteer study, unlike aspirin. It also reports dose-related fecal blood loss and retains serious GI warnings. Those findings should be considered together: a small platelet effect does not guarantee stomach safety or prove that a supplement interaction cannot occur.
Review the exact product
Bring the garlic product and daily amount to your pharmacist. Government guidance cautions about possible bleeding from supplements, particularly with medicines affecting bleeding. Concentrated tablets are a different exposure from garlic used in meals.
Know when to get help
oral meclofenamate sodium capsules can cause serious GI bleeding even without a supplement. Seek urgent care for vomiting blood or black, tarry stools, and report persistent stomach pain or unusual bleeding. Tell your prescriber about other pain medicines, aspirin and anticoagulants. A few hours of separation has not been shown to prevent an added bleeding effect.
Evidence and practical considerations
Side effects & toxicity
An increased bleeding or GI-injury rate specifically from garlic supplements with meclofenamate has not been established.
- Exact scope
- Oral garlic supplements with oral meclofenamate sodium capsules. Exact formulation, dose and duration matter; other NSAIDs and other supplement preparations are not interchangeable. with Exact meclofenamate RxCUI 588003 IN; current RxNorm links precise ingredient meclofenamate sodium PIN 6677. Label capsules contain meclofenamic acid-equivalent doses as the sodium salt monohydrate and measure circulating meclofenamic acid. Evidence is explicitly limited to this oral sodium-salt product, not unrelated salts or mefenamic acid.
- Medication form and route
- Oral
What remains uncertain
- Available supplement-only and other-drug studies do not establish exact-pair clinical harm or exclude rare events. No validated preventive spacing interval.
Factors that may matter: Exact preparation and dose; Fasting versus fed dosing; Bleeding and ulcer history; Other medicines.
Read the supporting source summaries
Source 1: Current prescribing information
dailymed.nlm.nih.gov · Source check Sep 10, 2026
Population: Prescription oral oral meclofenamate sodium capsules users; short human pharmacology studies where described.
One-week volunteer study showed little or no platelet aggregation or bleeding-time effect, unlike aspirin. Fecal blood loss was dose-related in isotope studies. Serious GI bleeding and ulcer warnings remain. Aluminum/magnesium antacids did not interfere with absorption.
How this applies: Exact current product label. Exact meclofenamate RxCUI 588003 IN; current RxNorm links precise ingredient meclofenamate sodium PIN 6677. Label capsules contain meclofenamic acid-equivalent doses as the sodium salt monohydrate and measure circulating meclofenamic acid. Evidence is explicitly limited to this oral sodium-salt product, not unrelated salts or mefenamic acid.
Short volunteer findings do not exclude clinical GI bleeding. Exact IN-to-sodium-PIN bridge is documented; no mefenamic acid or universal NSAID equivalence.
Source 2: Original clinical research
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · Source check Sep 10, 2026
Population: 62 healthy adults aged 20-50.
No significant platelet aggregation change; menstrual and nasal bleeding were reported.
How this applies: Indirect for oral meclofenamate sodium capsules co-use; exact preparation and endpoint retained.
Open-label single product; denominators inconsistent. No simultaneous NSAID and no exact combination bleeding estimate.
Source 3: Medication terminology
rxnav.nlm.nih.gov · Source check Sep 10, 2026
Population: Terminology.
meclofenamate is IN. Related PIN 6677 is meclofenamate sodium.
How this applies: Exact identity.
Not clinical evidence.
Research assessment: · Open full citations ↗
Side effects & toxicity
Garlic supplements warrant review when other bleeding risks are present.
- Exact scope
- Oral garlic supplements with oral meclofenamate sodium capsules. Exact formulation, dose and duration matter; other NSAIDs and other supplement preparations are not interchangeable. with Exact meclofenamate RxCUI 588003 IN; current RxNorm links precise ingredient meclofenamate sodium PIN 6677. Label capsules contain meclofenamic acid-equivalent doses as the sodium salt monohydrate and measure circulating meclofenamic acid. Evidence is explicitly limited to this oral sodium-salt product, not unrelated salts or mefenamic acid.
- Medication form and route
- Oral
What remains uncertain
- Precaution based on defined supplement evidence and the individual drug label; no exact combination event rate or universal discontinuation rule.
Factors that may matter: Exact preparation and dose; Fasting versus fed dosing; Bleeding and ulcer history; Other medicines.
Read the supporting source summaries
Source 1: Current prescribing information
dailymed.nlm.nih.gov · Source check Sep 10, 2026
Population: Prescription oral oral meclofenamate sodium capsules users; short human pharmacology studies where described.
One-week volunteer study showed little or no platelet aggregation or bleeding-time effect, unlike aspirin. Fecal blood loss was dose-related in isotope studies. Serious GI bleeding and ulcer warnings remain. Aluminum/magnesium antacids did not interfere with absorption.
How this applies: Exact current product label. Exact meclofenamate RxCUI 588003 IN; current RxNorm links precise ingredient meclofenamate sodium PIN 6677. Label capsules contain meclofenamic acid-equivalent doses as the sodium salt monohydrate and measure circulating meclofenamic acid. Evidence is explicitly limited to this oral sodium-salt product, not unrelated salts or mefenamic acid.
Short volunteer findings do not exclude clinical GI bleeding. Exact IN-to-sodium-PIN bridge is documented; no mefenamic acid or universal NSAID equivalence.
Source 2: Government supplement guidance
nccih.nih.gov · Source check Sep 10, 2026
Population: Garlic supplement users.
Warns of possible bleeding with supplements, especially alongside medicines affecting bleeding.
How this applies: Precaution considered alongside oral meclofenamate sodium capsules labeling.
No exact NSAID-specific risk estimate or food-equivalence claim.
Research assessment: · Open full citations ↗
Review and change history
- Publication status
- Published research summary
- Clinical review
- Not yet recorded
| Date | Update |
|---|---|
| Article prepared | |
| Sources checked and article drafted. | |
| Research summary published |
Article revision: de5a95d192d65afe
This guide brings together the evidence records used by our interaction checker. Each finding retains its own preparation limits, research date, and source summaries.
Full citations require verification. Reading this answer and the source summaries does not.
Taking other supplements or medications?
Use the checker to explore your other combinations. Ask a pharmacist to review the exact products, amounts and medical conditions in your complete list.
Open the interaction checkerInformation, not medical advice. Do not change prescribed treatment based on this guide.