Tretinoin

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Also indexed as:

All-Trans-Retinoic Acid, ATRA, Atragen, Avita, Renova, Retin-A, Vesanoid, Vitinoin

Tretinoin is a slightly altered version of vitamin A. Topical tretinoin is available in cream, gel, and liquid forms to treat acne, other skin conditions, and some forms of skin cancer. Tretinoin is also available in oral capsules used to induce remission in people with acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Herbs

Summary of Interactions for Tretinoin

Depletion or interference	None known
Adverse interaction	Vitamin A*
Side effect reduction/prevention	None known
Supportive interaction	None known
Reduced drug absorption/bioavailability	None known

An asterisk (*) next to an item in the summary indicates that the interaction is supported only by weak, fragmentary, and/or contradictory scientific evidence.

Interactions with Supplements

Vitamin A

Large amounts of vitamin A can cause side effects, and oral tretinoin can cause similar side effects. Combining vitamin A with oral tretinoin is likely to increase the risk of side effects. People taking oral tretinoin should probably not take more than 10,000 IU of supplemental vitamin A per day.

Other Interactions

Food

Food enhances absorption of retinoid drugs.¹ Tretinoin capsules (Vesanoid®) should be taken with food.

References

1. Threlkeld DS, ed. Antineoplastics, Miscellaneous Antineoplastics, Tretinoin. In Facts and Comparisons Drug Information. St. Louis, MO: Facts and Comparisons, Jul 1996, 685w-5z.

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Last Review: 09-01-2007

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