The short answer
There is not enough clinical evidence to say that pregnenolone reduces lorazepam’s effect or absorption. Ask for a review of the exact supplement instead of increasing your medicine dose.
What this answer covers
Oral pregnenolone supplements; pregnenolone sulfate, pregnanolone, allopregnanolone and other steroid derivatives are distinct substances.
- Supplement or preparation
- Pregnenolone
- Medication ingredient
- lorazepam
The names refer to different substances
Pregnenolone and pregnenolone sulfate are chemically different. Results with sulfated steroids or other pregnane derivatives cannot automatically be assigned to an oral pregnenolone supplement.
A receptor experiment is not a treatment-failure study
The cited laboratory research examined steroid effects on GABA receptors and included a lorazepam-flumazenil control. It did not give oral pregnenolone with lorazepam to patients or measure symptom control.
Reduced absorption has not been shown
The laboratory work did not measure intestinal drug absorption. Lorazepam’s label describes rapid absorption and conjugation, but does not establish a pregnenolone interaction.
Plan treatment changes together
Do not increase lorazepam to offset a supplement or abruptly stop regular treatment. Bring the full ingredient list to the prescriber so changes can be planned around the reason you take the medicine.
Evidence and practical considerations
Absorption & effectiveness
Preclinical steroid-receptor findings do not establish oral pregnenolone antagonism or reduced lorazepam absorption in people.
- Exact scope
- Oral pregnenolone supplements; pregnenolone sulfate, pregnanolone, allopregnanolone and other steroid derivatives are distinct substances. with Exact oral lorazepam tablets. Rapid conjugation to lorazepam glucuronide, which has no demonstrable CNS activity in animals. Oral tablet scope; injected lorazepam is not assigned the same supplement evidence.
- Medication form and route
- oral
- Timing or duration
- Source-specific single-dose, repeated-dose and observational exposures distinguished.
What remains uncertain
- No exact human co-use study identified. The receptor paper studies related steroid compounds and uses lorazepam-flumazenil as a control, not a clinical pregnenolone interaction.
Factors that may matter: preparation and plant part; clinical indication; dose; other medicines; baseline alertness.
Read the supporting source summaries
Source 1: current product label
dailymed.nlm.nih.gov · Source check Sep 10, 2026
Population: Patients prescribed oral lorazepam.
Can impair alertness and coordination; other CNS depressants can increase impairment. Opioid combinations have a specific respiratory-depression warning. Dependence and withdrawal require supervised changes. Rapid conjugation to lorazepam glucuronide, which has no demonstrable CNS activity in animals. Oral tablet scope; injected lorazepam is not assigned the same supplement evidence.
How this applies: Exact IN and labeled oral formulation; route, salt and metabolite distinctions retained.
No quantified risk for every herb or universal protective spacing interval. Opioid-specific evidence does not prove equal botanical respiratory risk.
Source 2: original preclinical study
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · Source check Sep 10, 2026
Population: Experimental receptor systems including Xenopus oocytes and rat hippocampal neurons.
Steroid receptor antagonism was examined; the lorazepam experiment validated a competitive antagonist control.
How this applies: Exact exposures and preparation limitations apply; no untested dose or route equivalence.
Not oral pregnenolone plus lorazepam in people; pregnenolone sulfate and other steroids cannot be silently substituted for pregnenolone. No absorption or treatment-failure endpoint.
Research assessment: · Open full citations ↗
Review and change history
- Publication status
- Published research summary
- Clinical review
- Not yet recorded
| Date | Update |
|---|---|
| Article prepared | |
| Current exact available claims adjudicated using original captures and explicit identity and comparator limits. | |
| Research summary published |
Article revision: 3d79c7a133464b10
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.