Is Multivitamins (with multivalent cations) Safe with ciprofloxacin?
Free · No account · based on published sources including NIH ODS, FDA drug labels, and peer-reviewed literature
Take ciprofloxacin at least 2 hours before or 6 hours after taking any multivitamin supplement containing calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, or aluminum.
Why this interaction occurs
Multivitamins containing multivalent cations (e.g., calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium) chelate ciprofloxacin in the gastrointestinal tract, decreasing its absorption and resulting in lower serum and urine levels.
Evidence
Evidence level: strong.
Data source
FDA Drug Label
Reported safety data
The FDA’s adverse event reporting system (FAERS) has received 86,830 reports mentioning ciprofloxacin. This reflects reported cases involving the medication in general — not confirmed causation, and not specific to the ciprofloxacin + supplement combination on this page.
FAERS reports are voluntary and cannot prove that a drug caused an event. Do not use report counts to assess the safety of this specific drug-supplement pair.
Frequently asked questions
Related interactions
All Multivitamins (with multivalent cations) interactions → · All ciprofloxacin interactions →
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Educational only — not medical advice.
Always confirm with your doctor or pharmacist.