Is Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) Safe with Oral contraceptives?
Free · No account · based on published sources including NIH ODS, FDA drug labels, and peer-reviewed literature
Consider supplementing with 10–25 mg of riboflavin daily. Adequate B2 is also important to support B6 and folate metabolism, which are also depleted by OCs.
Why this interaction occurs
OCs have been shown to reduce riboflavin (B2) status, possibly by increasing metabolic demand for flavin coenzymes (FAD, FMN) involved in estrogen metabolism. Riboflavin deficiency can cause fatigue, migraines, skin disorders, and impairs the activation of B6 and folate, compounding the multiple nutrient depletions caused by OCs.
Evidence
Evidence level: moderate.
Reported safety data
The FDA’s adverse event reporting system (FAERS) has received 22,854 reports mentioning Oral contraceptives. This reflects reported cases involving the medication in general — not confirmed causation, and not specific to the Oral contraceptives + 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 Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) interactions → · All Oral contraceptives interactions →
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Educational only — not medical advice.
Always confirm with your doctor or pharmacist.