Safety · 6 min read
Honey Power Side Effects: Reading the Sources on Each of the Six Ingredients
No side effect list came with this product, and an undeclared formula cannot produce a reliable one. What can be done is to read what the sources say about each name.
By The Honey-power editorial deskMedically reviewed by Dr. Landon Trost, MD, Physician, on Published Last updated
No HoneyPower side-effect list was supplied, and nothing supplied suggests a hazard at two capsules a day or rules one out, because no ingredient amounts are published. The sources record real concerns for some of the six ingredients at studied doses. See a doctor or pharmacist first if you take regular medicine.
What are the side effects of honey power?
We cannot give you a list that belongs to the capsule. None was supplied, and the label warning, which most supplements carry, was not seen by this site either.
What we can do is go through the six names and say what the published sources record. These are statements about each ingredient at the doses studied. They may be much more, or much less, than what is in a HoneyPower capsule. That is the catch, and it is why we put it first.
| Ingredient | What the source records | Source dose, for scale |
|---|---|---|
| Pure honey | A food. Not recommended for children under 12 months, because of botulism risk. | Dosing entries are for cough and allergy only |
| Panax ginseng | May raise bleeding risk with anticoagulants. May strengthen glucose-lowering drugs. QTc interval may be increased. Hypersensitivity and anaphylaxis reported. | 0.5 to 3 g crude root; extracts 100 to 400 mg |
| Maca root | No evidence of adverse reactions; interactions not well documented. Avoid with thyroid conditions, and in pregnancy and lactation, for lack of data. | 3,000 mg a day in one small study |
| Tribulus terrestris | Liver-injury likelihood score E*. Case reports include a rise in creatinine and, with large amounts of tribulus water, seizures. | 250 to 750 mg a day |
| Horny goat weed | Likelihood score E. Abdominal discomfort and nausea; rare rash and allergic reactions. | Capsules of 250 or 500 mg, one a day |
| Black pepper extract | Piperine slows the clearance of some medicines. See below. | 15 to 20 mg of piperine a day in interaction studies |
Key facts
- No side-effect list, label warning or safety data for the product itself was supplied.
- Safety turns on dose, and none of the six ingredient doses is declared.
- Panax ginseng: documented interactions with anticoagulants and glucose-lowering medicines, and a note that the QTc interval may be increased.
- Tribulus: liver-injury likelihood score E*, with case reports. Horny goat weed: likelihood score E, mostly mild effects.
- Black pepper extract: its active part, piperine, changed how fast volunteers cleared some prescription drugs.
Which ingredient has the longest warning list?
Panax ginseng. Its monograph lists a possible bleeding risk with anticoagulants, a possible stronger effect from glucose-lowering drugs (with monitoring advised), and a possible rise in the QTc interval, a measure of heart rhythm timing.
The same entry mentions reports of hypersensitivity and anaphylaxis, plus two cases of new acute manic psychosis tied to high doses over a long time. On benefit it is cautious, saying few good clinical trials exist.
None of this says HoneyPower causes any of these things. It says why a person on a blood thinner, a diabetes medicine or a heart-rhythm medicine should talk to a professional first.
What do tribulus and horny goat weed add to the picture?
LiverTox, the NIH liver-safety database, rates tribulus E*. Its case reports include one man whose creatinine climbed from 1.1 to 3.1 mg/dL, and another who drank two litres of tribulus water a day, had seizures and showed an ALT forty times the upper limit.
Horny goat weed is rated E. Mild stomach discomfort and nausea are possible, and rarely an allergic reaction or skin rash.
Both dose figures in the table are for whole capsules of a single ingredient. HoneyPower puts six in one capsule and declares none, so whether either is near is unknown.
Why is black pepper extract the one to ask a pharmacist about?
Because its role in a formula is to alter how the body handles other substances. Piperine inhibits CYP3A4, CYP2C9 and P-glycoprotein, which are among the main exit routes for everyday medicines.
At 20 mg a day for ten days, piperine raised carbamazepine exposure by 48%, and diclofenac and fexofenadine by 68% each. At 15 mg a day for three days it lengthened midazolam’s half-life and deepened its sedation. HoneyPower does not declare an amount of black pepper extract or a piperine figure. That is the one missing number that matters most.
So is honey power safe?
No hazard at two capsules a day is suggested by anything supplied. Equally, nothing supplied could show there is none. The second point is the real problem.
Think of safety as something that changes with who you are. A healthy adult who takes no medicine has a different question from a person on warfarin, insulin, an antidepressant, a seizure medicine or a nitrate. Maca’s monograph also advises against use in pregnancy and lactation, and the sold audience is adults 18 and over.
- Stop and speak to a doctor if you feel unwell after taking any supplement.
- Do not take more than the label says.
- Show the bottle to a pharmacist before the first capsule if you take anything regularly.
- Store it where children cannot reach it, and skip it if the seal has been broken.
Which sources does this post use?
Only sources already named on this site are used. Figures from them describe studied ingredients, not the contents of this capsule.
- Ginseng, Panax — Drugs.com natural products database
- Maca — Drugs.com natural products database
- Honey — Drugs.com natural products database
- Tribulus — LiverTox, NIDDK
- Horny Goat Weed — LiverTox, NIDDK
- Piperine Drug Interactions — Pharmacy Times
Frequently asked questions
What are the side effects of HoneyPower?
No side-effect list was supplied for the product. The sources describe concerns for some of its named ingredients at studied doses.
Is HoneyPower safe?
Nothing supplied suggests a hazard at two capsules a day, but nothing supplied lets anyone confirm it either, because no ingredient amounts are published.
Which ingredient has the most interaction warnings?
Panax ginseng, which is recorded to interact with anticoagulants and glucose-lowering medicines and may increase the QTc interval.
Why is black pepper extract a concern?
Its active part, piperine, slows how the body clears some medicines. The amount in HoneyPower is not published.
Can I take HoneyPower if I am pregnant or nursing?
Nothing supplied addresses it. Maca’s monograph advises against use in pregnancy and lactation, and the sold audience is adults 18 and over. Ask your doctor.
Who should avoid HoneyPower?
Anyone on prescription medicine should see a pharmacist first. People who are pregnant or nursing, under 18, or who have thyroid, heart-rhythm, blood-thinning or diabetes concerns should speak to a doctor.
Our view
A fair summary: the ingredients are common, and several are described by the sources as mild. A few are not. The missing amounts stop anyone, including us, from saying which side of the line a capsule falls on.
We would therefore treat this as a product to start with a conversation, not a click. Take the bottle to a pharmacist, ask about the black pepper extract by name, and only then open it. If you feel unwell afterwards, stop and speak to a doctor.
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What this page was checked against
Facts on it come from the product pack and the pages of this site, and from the sources listed above. Where something was not supplied, the page says “not published”. See the references page. This page was medically reviewed by Dr. Landon Trost, MD, Physician, for accuracy against the label and the cited sources.