Ginkgo, Bacopa and Blood Thinners: A Neuro Recall Safety Guide
Quick answer
Ginkgo in Neuro Recall may raise bleeding risk with blood thinners such as warfarin and may add to NSAIDs. Bacopa has no bleeding link in our sources; its usual side effect is stomach upset. Berberine interacts with cyclosporine and several liver enzymes, and four ingredients may lower blood sugar. Ask a doctor first if you take any of these medicines.
Neuro Recall contains ginkgo, bacopa, berberine and several other ingredients that can matter if you take prescription medicine. This post covers what the sources actually say about bleeding, blood sugar and drug interactions, and it is just as clear about what they do not say. It is a guide for talking to your doctor, not a replacement for it.
Who should ask a doctor before taking Neuro Recall?
Anyone on a blood thinner, diabetes medicine or another prescription should ask first. So should people with surgery coming up or liver problems. Answer the questions below to see where you stand.
Do you need to ask first?
Do you take a blood thinner such as warfarin?
Do you take aspirin every day, or ibuprofen and similar pain relievers often?
Do you take insulin or pills for diabetes?
Do you take cyclosporine or any other prescription medicine?
Is surgery or a dental procedure coming up?
Have you had liver problems?
Are you pregnant or nursing?
Answer every question to see your result. Nothing is saved or sent.
No flags from these questions. Read the label warnings, keep to 2 capsules a day, and stop if anything feels wrong.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist before you start, and bring the full ingredient list from the Supplement Facts panel.
Do not use it. The back label says not for pregnant or nursing women.
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Does ginkgo raise bleeding risk?
It may, especially with blood thinners. NCCIH says ginkgo may raise bleeding risk in people taking anticoagulants such as warfarin (NCCIH, Ginkgo: Usefulness and Safety).
Memorial Sloan Kettering adds that human studies and case reports suggest ginkgo may cause or lengthen bleeding time, and that it can add to the anticoagulant or antiplatelet effects of NSAIDs (Memorial Sloan Kettering, Ginkgo (About Herbs)). NSAIDs include common pain relievers such as aspirin and ibuprofen.
What the big trial saw
In the six-year GEM trial, serious side effects, including major bleeding, did not differ significantly between ginkgo and placebo (JAMA 2009, Snitz et al., GEM cognitive decline trial). That is reassuring for healthy people, but it does not cover someone who adds ginkgo to warfarin or daily aspirin.
Surgery
Tell your surgeon or dentist that you take a product with ginkgo. The sources we read do not give a set number of days to stop beforehand, so that timing should come from your care team.
More on dose, side effects and the trials is on our ginkgo biloba page.
Does bacopa thin the blood?
Not according to any source we read. Bacopa is often grouped with ginkgo as a memory herb, but none of our sources links it to bleeding or to blood thinners.
Its known problems are in the gut. A review of human trials lists nausea, increased intestinal motility and stomach and bowel upset as the most common side effects (Rejuvenation Res 2013, Aguiar and Borowski, Bacopa review). The same review notes that long-term human safety studies have not been done.
Bacopa doses and trial results are on the bacopa monnieri page.
Which Neuro Recall ingredients can affect medicines?
Six parts of the formula carry a medicine or safety note in our sources. Tap each one to see what it is.
Bleeding
Ginkgo
May raise bleeding risk with warfarin and other anticoagulants, and may add to the effects of NSAIDs.
Liver enzymes
Berberine
Can raise cyclosporin levels and slow the CYP2D6, 2C9 and 3A4 enzymes many medicines rely on.
Blood sugar
Chromium, cinnamon, ALA
May lower blood sugar. Together with diabetes medicine, the risk of going too low rises.
Heart drugs and the liver
Green tea extract
May interact with some medicines, such as nadolol and atorvastatin. A rare cause of liver injury.
Absorption
Magnesium
Can reduce absorption of bisphosphonates for bone and some antibiotics. Ask how to time them.
Stomach
Bacopa
No medicine interaction or bleeding effect in the sources we read. Stomach upset is the usual complaint.
Which medicines does berberine interact with?
Several. Memorial Sloan Kettering says berberine can raise blood levels of cyclosporin, can lower the activity of the CYP2D6, 2C9 and 3A4 liver enzymes at doses used in some studies, and may affect how sulfonylurea diabetes drugs are broken down (Memorial Sloan Kettering, Berberine (About Herbs)).
NCCIH also names cyclosporine and says berberine may be unsafe in pregnancy or breastfeeding (NCCIH, Berberine and Weight Loss). Side effects in studies were mainly stomach and bowel symptoms.
One point is often mixed up online. LiverTox rates berberine an unlikely cause of liver injury (LiverTox (NIDDK), Berberine). The liver warning in Neuro Recall belongs to green tea extract, not berberine. Read more on our berberine page.
Is Neuro Recall safe with diabetes medicine?
Ask your provider first. NCCIH says people who take diabetes drugs should tell their providers about any supplements, and it names chromium, cinnamon and berberine among those studied for blood sugar (NCCIH, Diabetes and Dietary Supplements). Neuro Recall contains all three, plus alpha lipoic acid.
- Chromium: taking it with insulin or diabetes pills could raise the risk of low blood sugar (NIH ODS, Chromium (health professional)).
- Alpha lipoic acid: high doses can cause low blood sugar and may add to blood-sugar drugs (Memorial Sloan Kettering, Alpha-Lipoic Acid (About Herbs)).
- Cinnamon: can lower blood sugar, so people with diabetes should be careful (Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, Cinnamon).
- Berberine: may lower blood glucose, and may change how sulfonylureas are broken down.
The amount of each of these in the blend is not printed, so no one can say how strong the combined effect is. Your provider may want you to check your sugar more often for a while.
Medicine by medicine: what the sources say
Find your medicine group in the left column. The right column links the source, so you or your pharmacist can read the original.
| Medicine group | Neuro Recall ingredient | What the source says | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anticoagulants such as warfarin | Ginkgo | May raise bleeding risk | (NCCIH, Ginkgo: Usefulness and Safety) |
| NSAIDs, including aspirin | Ginkgo | May add to anticoagulant or antiplatelet effects | (Memorial Sloan Kettering, Ginkgo (About Herbs)) |
| Cyclosporine | Berberine | Raises its blood levels | (Memorial Sloan Kettering, Berberine (About Herbs)) |
| Drugs handled by CYP2D6, 2C9, 3A4 | Berberine | Lowers enzyme activity at some study doses | (Memorial Sloan Kettering, Berberine (About Herbs)) |
| Drugs handled by CYP3A4 | Green tea extract | Can inhibit the enzyme | (Memorial Sloan Kettering, Green Tea (About Herbs)) |
| Nadolol, atorvastatin | Green tea extract | May interact | (NCCIH, Green Tea: Usefulness and Safety) |
| Sulfonylurea diabetes drugs | Berberine | May change how they are broken down | (Memorial Sloan Kettering, Berberine (About Herbs)) |
| Insulin and diabetes pills | Chromium, ALA | Could raise the risk of low blood sugar | (NIH ODS, Chromium (health professional)) (Memorial Sloan Kettering, Alpha-Lipoic Acid (About Herbs)) |
| Bisphosphonates, some antibiotics | Magnesium | Can reduce their absorption | (NIH ODS, Magnesium (health professional)) |
What other cautions should you know?
Three more, each from a named source. They apply whether or not you take other medicines.
- Liver: green tea extract is a rare but well-established cause of liver injury, usually within 1 to 6 months of starting (LiverTox (NIDDK), Green Tea). Stop and call a doctor for dark urine, yellow skin or eyes, or belly pain.
- Dose: two servings a day would give 500 mg of magnesium, above the 350 mg upper limit for supplements, and oxide often causes diarrhea at high doses (NIH ODS, Magnesium (health professional)). Keep to 2 capsules a day.
- Pregnancy and nursing: the label says do not use. Ginkgo and berberine also carry pregnancy cautions in the sources.
Every caution for this formula is collected on our Neuro Recall side effects page, and the who it is for page sorts readers by fit.
What should you bring to your pharmacist?
Bring the bottle and your medicine list. A pharmacist can check interactions in a few minutes if they can see every ingredient.
- 1
The bottle
Or a photo of the Supplement Facts panel, so all 14 ingredients are visible.
- 2
Your medicine list
Prescriptions, over-the-counter pain relievers and other supplements.
- 3
Upcoming dates
Any surgery, dental work or new prescriptions planned.
- 4
Your questions
Ask about bleeding, blood sugar and spacing magnesium from other pills.
Ginkgo, bacopa and blood thinners: FAQ
Can I take Neuro Recall if I am on warfarin or another blood thinner?
Ask your doctor first. Ginkgo may raise bleeding risk with anticoagulants such as warfarin, and the label does not say how much ginkgo is in each serving.
Does bacopa thin your blood?
Not according to the sources we read. They list nausea and stomach or bowel upset as its most common side effects and say nothing about bleeding.
Can I take Neuro Recall with aspirin or ibuprofen?
Ask first. Ginkgo can add to the anticoagulant or antiplatelet effects of NSAIDs, a group that includes aspirin and ibuprofen.
Which medicines does berberine interact with?
Cyclosporine, medicines broken down by the CYP2D6, 2C9 and 3A4 liver enzymes, and possibly sulfonylurea diabetes drugs. Show your full medicine list to a pharmacist.
Can I take Neuro Recall with metformin?
The sources we read do not name metformin. They say berberine may lower blood glucose and that anyone on diabetes drugs should tell their provider about supplements, so ask before you combine them.
Is ginkgo safe for diabetics?
The ginkgo sources we read do not discuss diabetes. In Neuro Recall, the bigger question is the blood-sugar group: berberine, chromium, cinnamon and alpha lipoic acid.
Should I stop ginkgo before surgery?
Tell your surgeon or dentist you take it and ask. The sources we read give no set number of days, so the timing should come from your care team.
Can I take Neuro Recall if I have high blood pressure?
The ginkgo sources we read do not discuss blood pressure. NCCIH says green tea extracts, also in Neuro Recall, can raise blood pressure, so mention it if you are treated for it.
Page check
Written by
Writes and fact-checks every page against the Supplement Facts panel, the back label and public health sources.
Medically reviewed by
Dr. Neelum Aggarwal, MD, Physician
Medical reviewer. Review date: October 12, 2026.
- Last checked October 11, 2026
- Facts from the bottle, the sales page and the sources cited above
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