Drug & supplement interaction

Oolong Tea + Alogliptin, Pioglitazone

Alogliptin, Pioglitazone brand name: Oseni.

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

Alogliptin, Pioglitazone falls into 2 drug categories that Oolong Tea can interact with; the most serious is rated moderate. Theoretically, oolong tea might increase the levels and clinical effects of pioglitazone.

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

Oolong Tea and Alogliptin, Pioglitazone

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

Why Are There 2 Interactions?

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

Moderate

PIOGLITAZONE (Actos)

1 of 2
Theoretically, oolong tea might increase the levels and clinical effects of pioglitazone.
Oolong tea contains caffeine. Animal research suggests that caffeine can modestly increase the maximum concentration, area under the curve, and half-life of pioglitazone, and also reduce its clearance. This increased the antidiabetic effects of pioglitazone. However, the exact mechanism of this interaction is unclear.
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

Your medication Oseni combines two diabetes drugs, and one of them, pioglitazone, is the part this interaction touches. The caffeine in oolong tea may, at least in theory, slow how your body clears pioglitazone, letting a bit more of it linger in your system. That could nudge its blood-sugar-lowering effect slightly stronger.

Here's the honest part: this comes only from animal lab research, not human studies, so it's far from certain. A cup or two of tea is unlikely to cause trouble for most people. Still, if you notice signs of low blood sugar (shakiness, sweating, dizziness, or feeling confused), that's worth attention. Before changing your tea or medication routine, please check with your pharmacist or doctor.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Alshabi AM, Alkahtani SA, Shaikh IA, Habeeb MS. Caffeine modulates pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles of pioglitazone in diabetic rats: Impact on therapeutics. Saudi Med J 2021;42(2):151-160. PubMed
Minor

ANTIDIABETES DRUGS

2 of 2

Why this applies to Alogliptin, Pioglitazone

Alogliptin, Pioglitazone falls under ANTIDIABETES DRUGS — the group Oolong Tea interacts with.

Theoretically, taking oolong tea with antidiabetes drugs might interfere with blood glucose control.
Oolong tea contains caffeine. Reports claim that caffeine might increase or decrease blood glucose levels.
Severity Minor Likelihood Unlikely Evidence B

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

Here's the simple version when it comes to your Oseni (which combines alogliptin and pioglitazone) and your daily cup of oolong. The concern isn't really about the tea changing how your medicine is processed in the body. It's the caffeine in oolong. Some reports suggest caffeine can nudge blood sugar up or down, so in theory it could make your blood sugar readings a little less predictable.

I want to be honest with you though: this is a minor and unlikely interaction based on weaker evidence. A few cups of oolong probably won't cause trouble for most people. Just keep an eye out for signs of low or high blood sugar (shakiness, sweating, extra thirst, or fatigue), and chat with your pharmacist or doctor before relying on concentrated caffeine pills or large amounts.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Watson JM, Jenkins EJ, Hamilton P, et al. Influence of caffeine on the frequency and perception of hypoglycemia in free-living patients with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Care 2000;23:455-9. PubMed
  2. Bell DG, Jacobs I, Ellerington K. Effect of caffeine and ephedrine ingestion on anaerobic exercise performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2001;33:1399-403. PubMed
  3. Baer DJ, Novotny JA, Harris GK, Stote K, Clevidence B, Rumpler WV. Oolong tea does not improve glucose metabolism in non-diabetic adults. Eur J Clin Nutr 2011;65(1):87-93. 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

Oolong Tea Also Interacts With Other Medications

Oolong Tea has 8 major, 517 moderate, 126 minor known drug interactions in our database — the Alogliptin, Pioglitazone one above is among them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Major 8 Moderate 517 Minor 126 No known interaction 2,179 (incl. Alogliptin, Pioglitazone)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Oolong Tea

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

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Alogliptin, Pioglitazone

This page covers Oolong Tea only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Alogliptin, Pioglitazone page lists 356 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Beer (major), Grapefruit (major), Siberian Cocklebur (major) and St. John's Wort (major).

By severity: 6 major · 309 moderate · 41 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Alogliptin, Pioglitazone page

“Someone taking Oseni (alogliptin and pioglitazone) for type 2 diabetes often shops the very shelf this list comes from, and the pairing deserves genuine caution. Of the 356 ingredients on file, 239 also lower blood sugar, so stacking them on top of the pill can drop glucose too far.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Alogliptin, Pioglitazone interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 75 real supplement products containing Oolong Tea, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Oolong Tea. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Alogliptin, Pioglitazone too, on top of Oolong 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 Oolong Tea and Alogliptin, Pioglitazone 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 Oolong Tea
Steady interest

#1,109 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Alogliptin, Pioglitazone
Steady interest

#1,681 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 Oolong Tea

What is Oolong Tea?

  • Weight management
  • Mental alertness and energy
  • Heart health
  • Blood sugar support
  • Antioxidant support

Oolong tea is a traditional partially oxidized tea made from the same plant as green and black tea, and it provides caffeine and plant antioxidants. As a beverage it is generally considered safe for most healthy adults in moderate amounts, but evidence for specific health benefits like weight loss or blood sugar control is limited. If you have heart, blood pressure, or caffeine-sensitivity concerns, talk with your pharmacist or doctor.

Read the full Oolong Tea monograph & all interactions
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Oolong Tea

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

8Major
517Moderate
126Minor
2,178No known interaction
8 Major 517 Moderate 126 Minor 2,178 No interaction
Major

8 interactions

Moderate

517 interactions

Showing 60 of 517 moderate interactions — see all 517 on the Oolong Tea page.

Minor

126 interactions

Showing 60 of 126 minor interactions — see all 126 on the Oolong Tea page.

No interaction 2,178 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,178 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Oolong Tea list.

See the full Oolong Tea interactions page
See every supplement checked against Alogliptin, Pioglitazone, 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
Oolong Tea monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place Alogliptin, Pioglitazone supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against Alogliptin, Pioglitazone, 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 Oolong Tea and Alogliptin, Pioglitazone Together: Common Questions

Can you take Oolong Tea with Alogliptin, Pioglitazone?
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 Oolong Tea and Alogliptin, Pioglitazone?
Alogliptin, Pioglitazone belongs to more than one drug category, and Oolong 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 Oolong Tea and Alogliptin, Pioglitazone 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

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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.