Drug & supplement interaction

Cocoa + Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine

Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine brand name: Amesec.

Moderate Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated September 2026
The bottom line Moderate

Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine falls into 2 drug categories that Cocoa can interact with; the most serious is rated moderate. Theoretically, concomitant use might increase stimulant adverse effects.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityModerate
LikelihoodProbable
Interactions2
EvidenceC
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Cocoa and Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine

These two interact in 2 distinct ways. Each one is explained separately below.

Why Are There 2 Interactions?

Cocoa interacts with whole categories of medication. Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine falls into 2 of those categories, so it can interact with Cocoa in 2 different ways. We’ve listed each one below — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them (Moderate).

Moderate

STIMULANT DRUGS

1 of 2

Why this applies to Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine

Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine falls under STIMULANT DRUGS — the group Cocoa interacts with.

Theoretically, concomitant use might increase stimulant adverse effects.
Cocoa contains caffeine. Concomitant use might increase the risk of stimulant adverse effects.
Severity Moderate Likelihood Probable Evidence C

Interaction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports..

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here's the simple version: cocoa naturally contains a little caffeine, which is a mild stimulant. Your Amesec combination already includes two stimulating ingredients, aminophylline (related to theophylline) and ephedrine. Stacking caffeine from cocoa on top of those can add up and may make stimulant-type side effects more likely, things like a racing or pounding heartbeat, jitteriness, restlessness, trouble sleeping, or feeling shaky.

The good news is this concern is based mostly on expert reasoning, not strong studies, and the caffeine in a normal cup of cocoa or a piece of chocolate is small. A concentrated cocoa supplement would carry more. I wouldn't panic, but if you notice your heart speeding up or feel wired, mention it to your pharmacist or doctor before changing anything.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. 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
Moderate

EPHEDRINE

2 of 2

Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine also falls under EPHEDRINE.

Theoretically, concomitant use might increase the risk for stimulant adverse effects.
Cocoa contains caffeine. There is evidence that using ephedrine with caffeine might increase the risk of serious life-threatening or debilitating adverse effects such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, seizures, and death.
Severity Moderate Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Interaction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here's the simple version: this old combo product (Amesec) already contains ephedrine, which is a stimulant, plus aminophylline, which acts a lot like caffeine in your body. Cocoa naturally contains caffeine too, along with a related stimulant called theobromine. When you stack stimulants on top of stimulants, the effects can add up.

What that can look like in real life is a faster or pounding heartbeat, jitteriness, higher blood pressure, trouble sleeping, or feeling wired. To be fair, this concern is mostly theoretical and based on scattered reports, and a regular cup of hot cocoa or a small piece of chocolate is unlikely to cause trouble. Concentrated cocoa supplements are a different story, and so is any heart or blood pressure condition. Please check with your pharmacist or doctor before combining them.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. 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.
  2. Haller CA, Benowitz NL. Adverse cardiovascular and central nervous system events associated with dietary supplements containing ephedra alkaloids. N Engl J Med 2000;343:1833-8. PubMed
  3. Kockler DR, McCarthy MW, Lawson CL. Seizure activity and unresponsiveness after hydroxycut ingestion. Pharmacotherapy 2001;21:647-51.. PubMed

What These Ratings Mean

Every interaction above is graded three ways — here’s the key to each label.

Severity how clinically significant the interaction is
Major

Clinically significant. Avoid the combination, or use only under close professional supervision.

Moderate

Usually worth avoiding or managing — may need monitoring, a dose change, or timing apart.

Minor

Generally not serious. Be aware of it and mention it to your pharmacist.

Likelihood how strong the evidence is that the interaction actually happens in people
  • LikelyWell-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction.
  • ProbableInteraction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports.
  • PossibleInteraction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.
  • UnlikelyInteraction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.
Evidence the quality of the studies behind the rating (graded A–D)
  • AHigh-quality meta-analysis (quantitative systematic review).
  • BCase-control study.
  • CConsensus.
  • DAnecdotal evidence.

These ratings are for information only. Never start, stop, or otherwise change your therapy before speaking with your provider.

Keep it in perspective

Cocoa Also Interacts With Other Medications

Cocoa has 634 moderate, 26 minor known drug interactions in our database — the Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine one above is among them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 634 Minor 26 No known interaction 2,170 (incl. Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Cocoa

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

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine

This page covers Cocoa only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine page lists 151 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), Black Tea (major) and Caffeine (major).

By severity: 21 major · 108 moderate · 22 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine page

“Amesec is an unusual mix, a sedative barbiturate (amobarbital) plus the stimulant ephedrine and the asthma drug aminophylline, so its interaction list pulls hard in both directions and deserves real care, with 21 of the 151 ingredients rated major. The most everyday hazard is caffeine.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 844 real supplement products containing Cocoa, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Cocoa. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine too, on top of Cocoa — and those would not show on this page. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Cocoa and Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine 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 Cocoa
Top 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine
Top 5%

#128 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.

Supplement

About Cocoa

What is Cocoa?

Cocoa
  • Heart and blood vessel health
  • High blood pressure
  • High cholesterol
  • Mental focus and mood
  • Skin moisturizing (cocoa butter)

Cocoa is rich in plant compounds called flavanols that may modestly support blood vessel function and blood pressure, but most chocolate products are high in sugar, fat, and calories, which can offset any benefit. Enjoy cocoa as part of a balanced diet, and talk to your pharmacist before using concentrated cocoa supplements, especially if you have heart or blood pressure conditions.

Read the full Cocoa monograph & all interactions
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Cocoa

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

0Major
634Moderate
26Minor
2,169No known interaction
634 Moderate 26 Minor 2,169 No interaction
Moderate

634 interactions

Showing 60 of 634 moderate interactions — see all 634 on the Cocoa page.

Minor

26 interactions

No interaction 2,169 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,169 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Cocoa list.

See the full Cocoa interactions page
See every supplement checked against Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine, ranked by severity
Sources

Sources & How We Checked

Interaction details are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database. The medication overview comes from MedlinePlus.

Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists. See our data sources and editorial standards for how this information is built and checked.

Parts of this content are provided by the Therapeutic Research Center, LLC.

DISCLAIMER: Currently this does not check for drug-drug interactions. This is not an all-inclusive comprehensive list of potential interactions and is for informational purposes only. Not all interactions are known or well-reported in the scientific literature, and new interactions are continually being reported. Input is needed from a qualified healthcare provider including a pharmacist before starting any therapy. Application of clinical judgment is necessary.

© 2021 Therapeutic Research Center, LLC

Keep exploring
Cocoa monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine, 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 Ask a pharmacist › Free, personal answer from our licensed team
Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Cocoa and Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine Together: Common Questions

Can you take Cocoa with Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine?
There is a moderate interaction, so it may be acceptable with monitoring or timing changes — but check with your pharmacist first. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
Why are there 2 interactions listed for Cocoa and Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine?
Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine belongs to more than one drug category, and Cocoa interacts with each of those categories a little differently. We list every one so nothing is missed — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them.
How serious is the Cocoa and Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine interaction?
We rate it Moderate. This combination may require monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separating the times you take each one. Consult your pharmacist before using them together.

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

Still Have a Question About Aminophylline, Amobarbital, Ephedrine and Cocoa?

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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.