Drug & supplement interaction

Pu-erh Tea + Moxifloxacin

Moxifloxacin brand name: Avelox.

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

Pu-erh Tea has a minor interaction with Moxifloxacin. Theoretically, quinolone antibiotics might increase the levels and adverse effects of caffeine.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityMinor
LikelihoodPossible
EvidenceB
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Pu-erh Tea and Moxifloxacin

Here is the interaction we found between these two, with the evidence behind it.

Minor

QUINOLONE ANTIBIOTICS

Why this applies to Moxifloxacin

Moxifloxacin falls under QUINOLONE ANTIBIOTICS — the group Pu-erh Tea interacts with.

Theoretically, quinolone antibiotics might increase the levels and adverse effects of caffeine.
Pu-erh tea contains caffeine. Concomitant use of caffeine and quinolones can decrease caffeine clearance and increase effects and risk of adverse effects.
Severity Minor Likelihood Possible Evidence B

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 thing to know about pairing pu-erh tea with moxifloxacin: the issue isn't the antibiotic building up, it's the caffeine in your tea. Fluoroquinolones like moxifloxacin can slow down how fast your body clears caffeine, so it lingers longer and hits harder than usual.

In real life that might mean feeling jittery, a racing heartbeat, trouble sleeping, or an upset stomach, basically a stronger-than-normal cup of tea. This is rated a minor, theoretical interaction, and moxifloxacin tends to affect caffeine less than some older quinolones do. A cup or two is unlikely to cause problems for most people, but if you're sensitive to caffeine, you may want to go easy. Check with your pharmacist if you have any concerns.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. 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
  2. Carbo M, Segura J, De la Torre R, et al. Effect of quinolones on caffeine disposition. Clin Pharmacol Ther 1989;45:234-40. PubMed
  3. 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
  4. Stille, W., Harder, S., Mieke, S., Beer, C., Shah, P. M., Frech, K., and Staib, A. H. Decrease of caffeine elimination in man during co-administration of 4-quinolones. J.Antimicrob.Chemother. 1987;20(5):729-734. PubMed
  5. Harder S, Staib AH, Beer C, et al. 4-quinolones inhibit biotransformation of caffeine. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 1988;35:651-6. PubMed
  6. Zhang LL, Zhang JR, Guo K, et al. Effects of fluoroquinolones on CYP4501A and 3A in male broilers. Res Vet Sci 2011;90:99-105. PubMed
  7. Cesana M, Broccali G, Imbimbo BP, Crema A. Effect of single doses of rufloxacin on the disposition of theophylline and caffeine after single administration. Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther Toxicol 1991:29:133-8.

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

Pu-erh Tea Also Interacts With Other Medications

Pu-erh Tea has 9 major, 448 moderate, 209 minor known drug interactions in our database — the Moxifloxacin one above is one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Major 9 Moderate 448 Minor 209 No known interaction 2,164 (incl. Moxifloxacin)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Pu-erh Tea

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Pu-erh Tea or Moxifloxacin

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Pu-erh Tea or Moxifloxacin, 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 Moxifloxacin

This page covers Pu-erh Tea only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Moxifloxacin page lists 155 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), American Hellebore (major), Apple (major), Arsenic (major) and Asarabacca (major).

By severity: 13 major · 121 moderate · 21 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Moxifloxacin page

“The supplement list for moxifloxacin (Avelox), a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, deserves genuine care, and the everyday items are the surprising part. Ordinary juices, apple, grapefruit, and sweet orange among them, block a transporter the drug needs for absorption and can cut how much reaches your blood, which for an antibiotic means the…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Moxifloxacin interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Pu-erh Tea and Moxifloxacin 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 Pu-erh Tea
Steady interest

#1,418 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Moxifloxacin
Top 25%

#603 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 Pu-erh Tea

What is Pu-erh Tea?

  • Weight management
  • Cholesterol and heart health
  • Digestion after meals
  • Mental alertness
  • General antioxidant support

Pu-erh tea is a fermented, aged form of tea made from the same plant as green and black tea. It is enjoyed worldwide as a beverage and is sometimes promoted for weight loss, cholesterol, and digestion, but human evidence for these uses is limited. As a normal drink it is generally well tolerated, though it does contain caffeine.

Read the full Pu-erh Tea monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Moxifloxacin

What Is Moxifloxacin Used For?

Brand name: Avelox

Moxifloxacin tablets and intravenous (IV) injection are approved for adults 18 and older to treat bacterial infections including community-acquired pneumonia, uncomplicated and complicated skin infections, complicated abdominal infections, plague, acute bacterial sinusitis, and acute bacterial flare-ups of chronic bronchitis. Note: moxifloxacin should only be used for sinusitis and chronic bronchitis flare-ups when no other antibiotic option is available, due to the risk of serious side effects.

Moxifloxacin ophthalmic solution (eye drops) — including the brand Vigamox — is a separate, topical formulation used only in the eye to treat bacterial conjunctivitis (pink eye) caused by susceptible bacteria. The eye drop form is not used for body-wide infections.

See full Moxifloxacin drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Pu-erh Tea

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

9Major
448Moderate
209Minor
2,163No known interaction
9 Major 448 Moderate 209 Minor 2,163 No interaction
Major

9 interactions

Moderate

448 interactions

Showing 60 of 448 moderate interactions — see all 448 on the Pu-erh Tea page.

Minor

209 interactions

Showing 60 of 209 minor interactions — see all 209 on the Pu-erh Tea page.

No interaction 2,163 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,163 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Pu-erh Tea list.

See the full Pu-erh Tea interactions page
See every supplement checked against Moxifloxacin, 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
Pu-erh Tea monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place Moxifloxacin supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against Moxifloxacin, ranked by severity Moxifloxacin drug information › The full plain-English guide to this medication 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 Pu-erh Tea and Moxifloxacin Together: Common Questions

Can you take Pu-erh Tea with Moxifloxacin?
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.
How serious is the Pu-erh Tea and Moxifloxacin 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

Still Have a Question About Moxifloxacin and Pu-erh Tea?

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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.