Drug & supplement interaction

Green Tea + Amitriptyline, Perphenazine

Amitriptyline, Perphenazine brand names: Triavil, Etrafon, Etrafon-A, Etrafon-Forte.

Minor Interaction
The bottom line Minor

Amitriptyline, Perphenazine falls into 2 drug categories that Green Tea can interact with; the most serious is rated minor. Green tea is unlikely to produce clinically significant changes in the levels and clinical effects of CYP3A4 substrates.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityMinor
LikelihoodUnlikely
Interactions2
EvidenceD
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Green Tea and Amitriptyline, Perphenazine

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

Why Are There 2 Interactions?

Green Tea interacts with whole categories of medication. Amitriptyline, Perphenazine falls into 2 of those categories, so it can interact with Green Tea in 2 different ways. We’ve listed each one below — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them (Minor).

Minor

CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES

1 of 2

Why this applies to Amitriptyline, Perphenazine

Amitriptyline, Perphenazine falls under CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES — the group Green Tea interacts with.

Green tea is unlikely to produce clinically significant changes in the levels and clinical effects of CYP3A4 substrates.
In vitro and in vivo research suggests that green tea can inhibit intestinal CYP3A and induce hepatic CYP3A4 enzymes. However, this effect is unlikely to be clinically significant, as green tea does not appear to affect CYP3A4 activity in humans.
Severity Minor Likelihood Unlikely Evidence D

Interaction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans..

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

Good news here: this is a very mild, mostly theoretical concern. This combo medicine (amitriptyline plus perphenazine) is partly handled by a liver enzyme called CYP3A4, and lab studies hint that green tea can nudge that enzyme in both directions. But in actual people, green tea hasn't been shown to meaningfully change how these drugs work, so for most folks enjoying a few cups a day, there's nothing to worry about.

If green tea did shift levels even slightly, you'd watch for the usual effects of these medicines, like drowsiness, dry mouth, dizziness, or feeling foggy. Concentrated green tea extract capsules are a bigger unknown than the brewed drink. If you take those, just run it by your pharmacist or doctor first.

References
  1. Donovan JL, Chavin KD, Devane CL, et al. Green tea (Camellia sinensis) extract does not alter cytochrome P450 3A4 or 2D6 activity in healthy volunteers. Drug Metab Dispos 2004;32:906-8. PubMed
  2. Nishikawa, M., Ariyoshi, N., Kotani, A., Ishii, I., Nakamura, H., Nakasa, H., Ida, M., Nakamura, H., Kimura, N., Kimura, M., Hasegawa, A., Kusu, F., Ohmori, S., Nakazawa, K., and Kitada, M. Effects of continuous ingestion of green tea or grape seed extrac
  3. Chow, H. H., Hakim, I. A., Vining, D. R., Crowell, J. A., Cordova, C. A., Chew, W. M., Xu, M. J., Hsu, C. H., Ranger-Moore, J., and Alberts, D. S. Effects of repeated green tea catechin administration on human cytochrome P450 activity. Cancer Epidemiol.B PubMed
  4. Engdal, S. and Nilsen, O. G. In vitro inhibition of CYP3A4 by herbal remedies frequently used by cancer patients. Phytother.Res. 2009;23(7):906-912.
  5. Schönthal AH. Adverse effects of concentrated green tea extracts. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2011 Jun;55(6):874-85. PubMed
Minor

PHENOTHIAZINES

2 of 2

Amitriptyline, Perphenazine also falls under PHENOTHIAZINES.

Theoretically, phenothiazines might increase the levels and adverse effects of caffeine.
Green tea contains caffeine. Phenothiazines can reduce the metabolism of caffeine by inhibiting cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2).
Severity Minor 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 interesting twist with this combo: it's not your medication that builds up, it's the caffeine in green tea. The perphenazine part of Triavil can slow down a liver enzyme (CYP1A2) that normally clears caffeine. So if you sip a lot of green tea, the caffeine may hang around longer and hit a little harder than usual.

In plain terms, you might notice more jitteriness, a racing heart, trouble sleeping, or feeling wired. The good news is this is a minor, mostly theoretical concern based on lab work, not strong human studies, and a normal cup or two is unlikely to cause trouble. If you load up on concentrated green tea extracts or drink it all day and feel extra wired, mention it to your pharmacist or doctor.

References
  1. Wojcikowski, J. and Daniel, W. A. Perazine at therapeutic drug concentrations inhibits human cytochrome P450 isoenzyme 1A2 (CYP1A2) and caffeine metabolism--an in vitro study. Pharmacol Rep. 2009;61(5):851-858. PubMed
  2. Daniel, W. A., Syrek, M., Rylko, Z., and Kot, M. Effects of phenothiazine neuroleptics on the rate of caffeine demethylation and hydroxylation in the rat liver. Pol.J Pharmacol 2001;53(6):615-621.

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

Green Tea Also Interacts With Other Medications

Green Tea has 13 major, 905 moderate, 374 minor known drug interactions in our database — the Amitriptyline, Perphenazine one above is among them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Green Tea

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Green Tea or Amitriptyline, Perphenazine

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Green Tea or Amitriptyline, Perphenazine, 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 Amitriptyline, Perphenazine

This page covers Green Tea only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Amitriptyline, Perphenazine page lists 311 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), American Hellebore (major), Arsenic (major) and Beer (major).

By severity: 19 major · 235 moderate · 57 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Amitriptyline, Perphenazine page

“Alcohol is the risk I'd flag first for anyone taking amitriptyline with perphenazine (Triavil, Etrafon). Beer and wine both carry major ratings here, and 78 of the 311 ingredients on file deepen the drowsiness this antidepressant and antipsychotic combination already causes, sometimes to the point of slowed breathing.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Amitriptyline, Perphenazine interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 9,084 real supplement products containing Green Tea, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Green Tea. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Amitriptyline, Perphenazine too, on top of Green Tea — 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 Green Tea and Amitriptyline, Perphenazine 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 Green Tea
Top 5%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Amitriptyline, Perphenazine
Top half

#1,276 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 Green Tea

What is Green Tea?

Green Tea
  • Antioxidant support
  • Weight loss
  • Heart health
  • Mental alertness
  • Cancer risk reduction

Green tea is a popular beverage rich in antioxidants called catechins, and drinking it in normal amounts is considered safe for most people. Concentrated green tea extracts are a different story—they may help modestly with weight or heart health for some, but high doses have been linked to rare liver problems. Talk to your pharmacist or doctor before taking green tea supplements, especially if you have liver concerns or are pregnant.

Read the full Green Tea monograph & all interactions
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Green Tea

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

13Major
905Moderate
374Minor
1,537No known interaction
Major

13 interactions

Moderate

905 interactions

Showing 60 of 905 moderate interactions — see all 905 on the Green Tea page.

Minor

374 interactions

Showing 60 of 374 minor interactions — see all 374 on the Green Tea page.

No interaction 1,537 drugs checked — show the list
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

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Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Green Tea and Amitriptyline, Perphenazine Together: Common Questions

Can you take Green Tea with Amitriptyline, Perphenazine?
There is only a minor interaction, which is usually not serious. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
Why are there 2 interactions listed for Green Tea and Amitriptyline, Perphenazine?
Amitriptyline, Perphenazine belongs to more than one drug category, and Green Tea 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 Green Tea and Amitriptyline, Perphenazine interaction?
We rate it Minor. This interaction is generally not clinically significant, but it remains worth noting and discussing with your pharmacist.

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

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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.