Drug & supplement interaction

Black Tea + Levetiracetam

Levetiracetam brand names: Keppra, Elepsia XR, Spritam.

No Known Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 13, 2026
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Black Tea and Levetiracetam in our sources. Absence of a documented interaction is not the same as proven safety, and does not guarantee one does not exist. Do not start, stop, or change a medication or supplement based on this page; confirm with your pharmacist or doctor first. Additionally, although there is no interaction, the two are separately associated with some of the same side effects, which would make a new symptom harder to attribute to one or the other.

Know someone taking this? Share
Facebook Post Reddit Email
On this page
Interaction report

Black Tea and Levetiracetam

We checked these two against our interaction database. Here is what we found.

No Known Interaction Found

We did not find a documented interaction between Levetiracetam and Black Tea in our sources. This does not guarantee that the combination is completely free of risk — there is often limited research on supplements and herbal products, especially around drug interactions.

If you decide to take both, the practical routine is simple: add one new thing at a time and note the date you started it. If the combination is going to disagree with you, it usually shows in the first days to a couple of weeks — and a start date turns “I’ve been feeling off” into something a pharmacist can actually work with. Do not stop a prescribed medicine on your own.

Always talk with your pharmacist or doctor before making changes to your medications or supplements, particularly if you take several medications or have an ongoing health condition.

Black Tea safety at a glance

Black Tea overall Generally safe Moderate amounts are generally safe for most healthy adults, but the caffeine can cause problems in large amounts.
Pregnancy Possibly Safe When used orally in moderate amounts. Due to the caffeine content of black tea, mothers should closely monitor their intake to ensure moderate consumption. Caff... Read the full pregnancy detail
Breastfeeding Possibly Safe When used orally in moderate amounts. Due to the caffeine content of black tea, caffeine intake should be closely monitored. Breast milk concentrations of caffe... Read the full breastfeeding detail

Pregnancy & breastfeeding ratings are from Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center) — the full detail is in the Special populations card below. Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Still wondering about combining Levetiracetam and Black Tea? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Levetiracetam

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Levetiracetam is filed under 3 classifications — anticonvulsants, cns depressants, oral drugs. Black Tea has documented interactions with 46 drug classes — the most serious being ephedrine (major), adenosine (adenocard) (moderate) and anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs (moderate) — and none of Levetiracetam’s classifications are among them.

Classification data comes from our licensed Natural Medicines dataset. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded there, so this describes how the check was run — it is not a safety guarantee.

Keep it in perspective

Black Tea Does Interact With Other Medications

Black Tea has 8 major, 572 moderate, 114 minor known drug interactions in our database — Levetiracetam isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Major 8 Moderate 572 Minor 114 No known interaction 2,136 (incl. Levetiracetam)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Black Tea

Covers the 2,830 medications we’ve checked against Black Tea. Pick one to open its full report.

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Black Tea and Levetiracetam May Share Several of the Same Side Effects

This is not an interaction. Neither one changes how your body handles the other, and nothing here says they react together. What our sources do show is that each has separately been linked to the effects below — so taking both can make those effects more likely to turn up, and harder to pin on one or the other if they do. 3 of them are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Seizures Worth acting on Additional detail

    Black Tea

    “Orally, caffeine in black tea can cause insomnia, nervousness, headache, anxiety, agitation, jitteriness, restlessness, ringing in the ears, tremors, delirium, and convulsions. Caffeine may also exacerbate sleep disturbances in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

    There is some concern that stopping regular use of caffeine may cause withdrawal symptoms such as headache; tiredness and fatigue;”

    Black Tea · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in anxiety.

    6 sources cited
    1. 11832. Institute of Medicine. Caffeine for the Sustainment of Mental Task Performance: Formulations for Military Operations. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2001. Available at: http://books.nap.edu/books/0309082587/html/index.html. DOI
    2. 11838. Holmgren P, Norden-Pettersson L, Ahlner J. Caffeine fatalities--four case reports. Forensic Sci Int 2004;139:71-3. PubMed
    3. 13735. Leson CL, McGuigan MA, Bryson SM. Caffeine overdose in an adolescent male. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol 1988;26:407-15. PubMed
    4. 10204. Dreher HM. The effect of caffeine reduction on sleep quality and well-being in persons with HIV. J Psychosom Res 2003;54:191-8.. PubMed
    5. 13738. Juliano LM, Griffiths RR. A critical review of caffeine withdrawal: empirical validation of symptoms and signs, incidence, severity, and associated features. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2004;176:1-29. PubMed
    6. 2723. Dews PB, Curtis GL, Hanford KJ, O'Brien CP. The frequency of caffeine withdrawal in a population-based survey and in a controlled, blinded pilot experiment. J Clin Pharmacol 1999;39:1221-32. PubMed

    Levetiracetam

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Levetiracetam. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Low mood Worth acting on Additional detail

    Black Tea

    Recorded for Black Tea in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Seizures above.

    Levetiracetam

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Levetiracetam. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • A severe allergic reaction Worth acting on Additional detail

    Black Tea

    “Orally, caffeine in black tea can cause anaphylaxis in sensitive individuals, although true IgE-mediated caffeine allergy seems to be relatively rare.”

    Black Tea · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in allergic rhinitis (hay fever).

    1 source cited
    1. 11315. Infante S, Baeza ML, Calvo M, et al. Anaphylaxis due to caffeine. Allergy 2003;58:681-2. PubMed

    Levetiracetam

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Levetiracetam. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Mood changes or irritability / Drowsiness / Tiredness / Headache Additional detail

    Black Tea

    Recorded for Black Tea in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Seizures above.

    Levetiracetam

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Levetiracetam. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Anxiety or restlessness Additional detail

    Black Tea

    Recorded for Black Tea in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Seizures above.

    Levetiracetam

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Levetiracetam. Read the label on DailyMed ›

Reported for Black Tea but not commonly for Levetiracetam: trouble concentrating, raised blood pressure, dependence or withdrawal symptoms and ringing in the ears.

Effects for Levetiracetam come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Black Tea come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Wording is matched across sources by our own clinical vocabulary, so treat this as a prompt to pay attention, not a diagnosis.

Special populations

Black Tea in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnancy Possibly Safe

When used orally in moderate amounts. Due to the caffeine content of black tea, mothers should closely monitor their intake to ensure moderate consumption. Caffeine crosses the human placenta but is not considered a teratogen. Fetal blood concentrations of caffeine approximate maternal concentrations. The use of caffeine during pregnancy is controversial; however, moderate consumption has not been associated with clinically important adverse fetal effects. In some studies, consuming amounts over 200 mg daily is associated with a significantly increased risk of miscarriage. This increased risk may be most likely to occur in females with genotypes that confer a slow rate of caffeine metabolism. According to a review by Health Canada, and a subsequent large meta-analysis conducted in the US, most healthy patients can safely consume doses up to 300 mg daily during pregnancy without an increased risk of spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, preterm birth, fetal growth retardation, or congenital malformations. Advise keeping caffeine consumption below 300 mg daily. This is similar to the amount of caffeine in about 3 cups of black tea. Keep in mind that only the amount of ADDED caffeine must be stated on product labels. The amount of caffeine found in ingredients such as black tea, which naturally contains caffeine, does not need to be provided. This can make it difficult to determine the total amount of caffeine in a given product.

Pregnancy Possibly Unsafe

When used orally in large amounts. Caffeine from black tea crosses the placenta, producing fetal blood concentrations similar to maternal levels. Consumption of caffeine in amounts over 300 mg daily is associated with a significantly increased risk of miscarriage. Advise keeping caffeine consumption from all sources below 300 mg daily. This is similar to the amount of caffeine in about 3 cups of black tea. High doses of caffeine throughout pregnancy have resulted in symptoms of caffeine withdrawal in newborn infants. High doses of caffeine have also been associated with spontaneous abortion, premature delivery, and low birth weight. Preliminary evidence from a population study also suggests that increasing consumption of black tea might increase the risk of spina bifida; however, this finding needs to be verified with additional research. Cohort studies suggest that consuming large amounts of caffeine during pregnancy may reduce the height and weight of the infants born as they grow up. In a cohort of mother/infant pairs with a median maternal plasma caffeine level of 168.5 ng/mL (range 29.5-650.5 ng/mL) during pregnancy, birth weights and lengths were lower in the 4th quartile of caffeine intake compared with the 1st. By age 7, heights and weights were lower by 1.5 cm and 1.1 kg respectively. In another cohort of mother/infant pairs with higher maternal pregnancy plasma caffeine levels, median 625.5 ng/mL (range 86.2 to 1994.7 ng/mL), heights at age 8 were 2.2 cm lower, but there was no difference in weights. Keep in mind that only the amount of ADDED caffeine must be stated on product labels. The amount of caffeine found in ingredients such as black tea, which naturally contains caffeine, does not need to be provided. This can make it difficult to determine the total amount of caffeine in a given product. More evidence is needed to determine the safety of using black tea during pregnancy. For now, advise avoidance of large quantities of black tea during pregnancy.

Lactation Possibly Safe

When used orally in moderate amounts. Due to the caffeine content of black tea, caffeine intake should be closely monitored. Breast milk concentrations of caffeine are thought to be approximately 50% of maternal serum concentrations. Minimal consumption would likely result in limited exposure to a nursing infant.

Lactation Possibly Unsafe

When used orally in large amounts. Consumption of black tea might cause irritability and increased bowel activity in nursing infants. Black tea might also interfere with iron metabolism and folic acid bioavailability in nursing infants. Large doses or excessive intake of black tea should be avoided during lactation.

DISCLAIMER: This tool is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be interpreted as specific medical advice. Patients should consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about therapies and/or health conditions.© 2026 Therapeutic Research Center

From our Q&A

Questions About Black Tea or Levetiracetam

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Black Tea or Levetiracetam, not necessarily both, but if one is close to what you were about to ask it will usually go further than a database entry can:

Not quite your question? Ask our pharmacists directly — it is free, there is no account required, and answers usually come back within 24 hours.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Levetiracetam

This page covers Black Tea only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Levetiracetam page lists 105 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: 1,4-butanediol (major), Activated Charcoal (major), Beer (major), Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (ghb) (major) and Kava (major).

By severity: 7 major · 82 moderate · 16 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Levetiracetam page

“I would read this page carefully rather than casually. Levetiracetam (Keppra, Spritam) controls seizures, and both hazards on this list run through that fact.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Levetiracetam interaction page

One more smart check

Taking Black Tea as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 271 real supplement products containing Black Tea, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Black Tea. Even though Black Tea itself has no known interaction with Levetiracetam, another ingredient on your label might. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Black Tea and Levetiracetam Sit Against Everything Else

Out of every supplement and medication people look up on HelloPharmacist, here is where these two land this week — and which way each has been moving.

Supplement Black Tea
Top 25%

#280 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Levetiracetam
Top 10%

#233 of 2,830 medications looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Position among everything looked up on this site, not a measure of how commonly either one is used or how important it is. A supplement can climb this list because of a news story. It counts every request to the page, automated ones included, and nothing here identifies anyone.

Where does our data come from?
  • Source: the Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) clinical database — the evidence-graded professional reference for herb & supplement interactions.
  • Citation library: 103,510 references behind our interaction content, 65,311 of them resolved to verified PubMed/DOI sources. See every Black Tea reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Black Tea and Levetiracetam records this page draws on were last updated July 11, 2026.
  • What “no known interaction” means: no documented interaction in the sources above — not a guarantee of safety. Supplements are studied far less than prescription drugs, so we say exactly what the evidence supports, and nothing more.
Data structure & sourcing designed and verified by .
Supplement

About Black Tea

What is Black Tea?

  • Mental alertness and energy
  • Heart health support
  • Blood pressure and cholesterol
  • Digestive complaints
  • Weight management
  • Antioxidant support

Black tea is a popular caffeinated drink made from the fully oxidized leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, and it contains caffeine and antioxidant plant compounds. Moderate tea drinking is generally safe for most adults and may modestly support heart health and alertness, but it is not a proven treatment for any disease. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, sensitive to caffeine, or taking medicines, talk to your pharmacist or doctor.

Camellia sinensis · Theaceae · Leaves and leaf buds (fully oxidized) · Brewed tea, tea bags, loose leaf, instant powder, capsules, and standardized extracts

An interaction check asks whether these two react with each other — it does not ask whether Black Tea is a good idea for someone in your situation. Here is what our Black Tea record says about it on its own.

Black Tea: dosing

There is no official standardized dose of black tea as a medicine. Most people drink it as a beverage, a few cups per day. A typical cup contains roughly the caffeine of a smaller cup of coffee, but the exact amount depends on the brand and how long it is steeped.For supplements or extracts, the right amount is not well established. Follow the directions on the product label and do not exceed them. Keep in mind that supplements are not closely regulated, so quality can vary.Health agencies often suggest healthy adults keep total caffeine from all sources to a moderate amount each day.

From our Black Tea monograph — the full record covers uses, side effects and every documented interaction.

Read the full Black Tea monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Levetiracetam

What Is Levetiracetam Used For?

Brand names: Keppra, Elepsia XR, Spritam

Levetiracetam is used to treat several types of seizures. It treats partial-onset seizures (seizures that start in one area of the brain) and is used as add-on therapy for myoclonic seizures (sudden, brief muscle jerks) in people with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy aged 12 and older, and for primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures (grand mal seizures) in people with idiopathic generalized epilepsy aged 6 and older.

Age eligibility varies by product. Keppra oral and Roweepra tablets treat partial-onset seizures in patients as young as 1 month. Spritam and levetiracetam tablets for oral suspension treat partial-onset seizures in patients 4 years and older weighing more than 20 kg. Extended-release products — including Elepsia XR, Keppra XR, and Levetiracetam ER — are approved only for partial-onset seizures in patients 12 years and older. Injectable forms are used intravenously when a patient temporarily cannot take oral medication.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Levetiracetam

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (0 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Seizure 15,978 reports
Fatigue 5,591 reports
Somnolence 4,177 reports
Epilepsy 4,136 reports
Convulsion 4,085 reports
See full Levetiracetam drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Black Tea

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Black Tea — both the ones with a known interaction and the ones without. Select any drug for the full detail.

8Major
572Moderate
114Minor
2,135No known interaction
8 Major 572 Moderate 114 Minor 2,135 No interaction
Major

8 interactions

Moderate

572 interactions

Showing 60 of 572 moderate interactions — see all 572 on the Black Tea page.

Minor

114 interactions

Showing 60 of 114 minor interactions — see all 114 on the Black Tea page.

No interaction 2,135 drugs checked — show the list

We also checked Black Tea against these medications and found no known interaction in our sources. Open any page to confirm.

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,135 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Black Tea list.

See the full Black Tea interactions page
See every supplement checked against Levetiracetam, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Black Tea References

The 150 references that drive our Black Tea monograph and interaction data, from the evidence-graded Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) database. Citations with a link open the study on PubMed or the publisher’s site.

  1. McEvoy GK, ed. AHFS Drug Information. Bethesda, MD: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, 1998.
  2. Hertog MGL, Sweetnam PM, Fehily AM, et al. Antioxidant flavonols and ischemic heart disease in a Welsh population of men: the Caerphilly Study. Am J Clin Nutr 1997;65:1489-94. PubMed
  3. Harder S, Fuhr U, Staib AH, Wolff T. Ciprofloxacin-caffeine: a drug interaction established using in vivo and in vitro investigations. Am J Med 1989;87:89S-91S. PubMed
  4. Carbo M, Segura J, De la Torre R, et al. Effect of quinolones on caffeine disposition. Clin Pharmacol Ther 1989;45:234-40. PubMed
  5. Healy DP, Polk RE, Kanawati L, et al. Interaction between oral ciprofloxacin and caffeine in normal volunteers. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 1989;33:474-8. PubMed
  6. Mester R, Toren P, Mizrachi I, et al. Caffeine withdrawal increases lithium blood levels. Biol Psychiatry 1995;37:348-50. PubMed
  7. Jefferson JW. Lithium tremor and caffeine intake: two cases of drinking less and shaking more. J Clin Psychiatry 1988;49:72-3.
  8. Lasswell WL Jr, Weber SS, Wilkins JM. In vitro interaction of neuroleptics and tricylic antidepressants with coffee, tea, and gallotannic acid. J Pharm Sci 1984;73:1056-8. PubMed
  9. Kulhanek F, Linde OK, Meisenberg G. Precipitation of antipsychotic drugs in interaction with coffee or tea. Lancet 1979;2:1130.
  10. Merhav H, Amitai Y, Palti H, Godfrey S. Tea drinking and microcytic anemia in infants. Am J Clin Nutr 1985;41:1210-3.
  11. Joeres R, Klinker H, Heusler H, et al. Influence of mexiletine on caffeine elimination. Pharmacol Ther 1987;33:163-9. PubMed
  12. Vahedi K, Domingo V, Amarenco P, Bousser MG. Ischemic stroke in a sportsman who consumed MaHuang extract and creatine monohydrate for bodybuilding. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatr 2000;68:112-3.
  13. Wakabayashi K, Kono S, Shinchi K, et al. Habitual coffee consumption and blood pressure: A study of self-defense officials in Japan. Eur J Epidemiol 1998;14:669-73. PubMed
  14. Hodgson JM, Puddey IB, Burke V, et al. Effects on blood pressure of drinking green and black tea. J Hypertens 1999;17:457-63. PubMed
  15. Rapuri PB, Gallagher JC, Kinyamu HK, Ryschon KL. Caffeine intake increases the rate of bone loss in elderly women and interacts with vitamin D receptor genotypes. Am J Clin Nutr 2001;74:694-700. PubMed

Medication overviews come from MedlinePlus (NIH); supplement label data from the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database. Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Black Tea and Levetiracetam Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Black Tea with Levetiracetam?
We do not list a known interaction between Black Tea and Levetiracetam. That does not guarantee the combination is risk-free, so confirm with your pharmacist or doctor — especially if you take other medications or have a health condition.
Do Black Tea and Levetiracetam have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 8 of the same effects. That is not an interaction: neither changes how your body handles the other. It does mean that if one of those effects turns up, it can be harder to tell which one is behind it. They are listed on this page with the source behind each.
How was the Black Tea and Levetiracetam combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Levetiracetam is filed under 3 classifications, and Black Tea has documented interactions with 46 drug classes — none of Levetiracetam's classifications are among them. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded in our dataset, so this describes how the check was run rather than guaranteeing safety.
Does Black Tea interact with any other medications?
Yes. Black Tea has 694 documented drug interactions in our database — Levetiracetam is simply not one of them. If you take anything else, it is worth checking each one; they are all listed on this page.
Does Levetiracetam interact with any supplements?
Yes. Levetiracetam has documented interactions with 105 supplements in our database — Black Tea is not one of them. The Levetiracetam interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

Where next

Keep Exploring

Black Tea monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Levetiracetam drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Levetiracetam supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Levetiracetam, ranked by severity Supplement interaction checker Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z Every drug we’ve checked against herbs & supplements References The 150 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Levetiracetam and Black Tea?

Our pharmacists answer your medication & supplement questions — free.

Ask a pharmacist

This information is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or combining supplements and medications.