Drug & supplement interaction

Sesame + Azilsartan

Azilsartan brand name: Edarbi.

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

Azilsartan falls into 2 drug categories that Sesame can interact with; the most serious is rated moderate. Taking sesame oil with antihypertensive drugs might increase the risk of hypotension.

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

Sesame and Azilsartan

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

Why Are There 2 Interactions?

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

Moderate

ANTIHYPERTENSIVE DRUGS

1 of 2

Why this applies to Azilsartan

Azilsartan falls under ANTIHYPERTENSIVE DRUGS — the group Sesame interacts with.

Taking sesame oil with antihypertensive drugs might increase the risk of hypotension.
Clinical research shows that replacing other cooking oil with sesame oil can lower systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in patients with or without hypertension. There is also some evidence that sesame oil has additive effects in patients also taking atenolol, nifedipine, and/or hydrochlorothiazide. In patients using nifedipine, using a blend of sesame oil and rice bran oil for cooking reduces both SBP and DBP more than nifedipine alone.
Severity Moderate Likelihood Probable Evidence D

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 gist: Edarbi (azilsartan) already lowers your blood pressure by relaxing your blood vessels. Sesame, especially sesame oil used in place of other cooking oils, has shown a mild blood-pressure-lowering effect of its own in some studies. So the concern is simply additive. The two together could nudge your numbers a little lower than the medication alone.

This is a theoretical, pharmacology-based caution rather than something well proven for azilsartan specifically. Normal culinary amounts of sesame in your food are unlikely to cause trouble. If you regularly cook with a lot of sesame oil or take concentrated sesame supplements, just watch for signs of low blood pressure like dizziness, lightheadedness, or feeling faint, and check in with your pharmacist or doctor.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Sankar, D., Sambandam, G., Ramakrishna, Rao M., and Pugalendi, K. V. Modulation of blood pressure, lipid profiles and redox status in hypertensive patients taking different edible oils. Clin Chim Acta 2005;355(1-2):97-104. PubMed
  2. Sankar, D., Rao, M. R., Sambandam, G., and Pugalendi, K. V. A pilot study of open label sesame oil in hypertensive diabetics. J Med Food 2006;9(3):408-412. PubMed
  3. Sankar, D., Rao, M. R., Sambandam, G., and Pugalendi, K. V. Effect of sesame oil on diuretics or Beta-blockers in the modulation of blood pressure, anthropometry, lipid profile, and redox status. Yale J Biol.Med. 2006;79(1):19-26.
  4. Khosravi-Boroujeni H, Nikbakht E, Natanelov E, Khalesi S. Can sesame consumption improve blood pressure? A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials. J Sci Food Agric. 2017;97(10):3087-3094. PubMed
  5. Devarajan S, Singh R, Chatterjee B, Zhang B, Ali A. A blend of sesame oil and rice bran oil lowers blood pressure and improves the lipid profile in mild-to-moderate hypertensive patients. J Clin Lipidol. 2016;10(2):339-49. PubMed
  6. Atefi M, Entezari MH, Vahedi H, Hassanzadeh A. The effects of sesame oil on metabolic biomarkers: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials. J Diabetes Metab Disord 2022;21(1):1065-1080. PubMed
  7. Huang H, Zhou G, Pu R, Cui Y, Liao D. Clinical evidence of dietary supplementation with sesame on cardiovascular risk factors: An updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2022;62(20):5592-5602. PubMed
Moderate

CYTOCHROME P450 2C9 (CYP2C9) SUBSTRATES

2 of 2

Azilsartan also falls under CYTOCHROME P450 2C9 (CYP2C9) SUBSTRATES.

Theoretically, sesame might increase the levels and clinical effects of CYP2C9 substrates.
In vitro, sesame inhibits CYP2C9. However, this interaction has not been reported in humans.
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 gist: your blood pressure medicine azilsartan (Edarbi) is partly handled by a liver enzyme called CYP2C9. In a test-tube setting, compounds in sesame appear to slow that enzyme down. If that were to happen in real life, your body might clear azilsartan a little slower, leaving slightly more of it around. That could nudge its effects up, meaning a bit more blood-pressure lowering and possibly side effects like dizziness, lightheadedness, or feeling drained, especially when standing up quickly.

The important part: this has only been seen in lab studies, never reported in actual people. Normal sesame in food (a sprinkle on a bun, some tahini, a little oil) is very unlikely to cause trouble. Concentrated sesame supplements are less studied, so if you take those, check with your pharmacist or doctor first.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. von Moltke LL, Weemhoff JL, Bedir E, et al. Inhibition of human cytochromes P450 by components of Ginkgo biloba. J Pharm Pharmacol 2004;56:1039-44.

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

Sesame Also Interacts With Other Medications

Sesame has 342 moderate, 185 minor known drug interactions in our database — the Azilsartan one above is among them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 342 Minor 185 No known interaction 2,303 (incl. Azilsartan)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Sesame

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

From our Q&A

Questions About Sesame or Azilsartan

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

This page covers Sesame only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Azilsartan page lists 182 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), American Hellebore (major), American Mistletoe (major), Tyramine (major) and Adrafinil (moderate).

By severity: 4 major · 145 moderate · 33 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Azilsartan page

“Edarbi (azilsartan) lowers blood pressure, and its users are often the same shoppers browsing supplements sold for heart health, which makes this list of 182 ingredients one to treat with real care. Start with the four rated major: activated charcoal can soak up an oral dose before it absorbs, tyramine can push pressure up and blunt th…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Azilsartan interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 434 real supplement products containing Sesame, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Sesame. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Azilsartan too, on top of Sesame — 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 Sesame and Azilsartan 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 Sesame
Top half

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

29 days ago today
Medication Azilsartan
Steady interest

#1,535 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 Sesame

What is Sesame?

  • Heart and cholesterol health
  • Blood pressure support
  • Source of healthy fats and minerals
  • Skin and hair care (topical oil)
  • Antioxidant support
  • Cooking and nutrition

Sesame is a nutritious seed and oil widely used in cooking and traditional medicine, and it provides healthy fats, fiber, and antioxidant compounds called lignans. Some early research suggests sesame may modestly help with cholesterol and blood pressure, but the evidence is limited. Sesame is also a common, sometimes serious, food allergen, so people with seed allergies should be careful.

Read the full Sesame monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Azilsartan

What Is Azilsartan Used For?

Brand name: Edarbi

Azilsartan medoxomil tablets — sold as both the generic Azilsartan Medoxomil and the brand Edarbi — are approved to treat high blood pressure (hypertension) in adults. Bringing blood pressure down lowers the risk of serious cardiovascular events, especially stroke and heart attack.

The medication can be used on its own or alongside other blood pressure medicines. It is not a cure for high blood pressure, and managing the condition fully often involves lifestyle steps like limiting sodium, exercising, and quitting smoking.

See full Azilsartan drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Sesame

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

0Major
342Moderate
185Minor
2,302No known interaction
342 Moderate 185 Minor 2,302 No interaction
Moderate

342 interactions

Showing 60 of 342 moderate interactions — see all 342 on the Sesame page.

Minor

185 interactions

Showing 60 of 185 minor interactions — see all 185 on the Sesame page.

No interaction 2,302 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,302 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Sesame list.

See the full Sesame interactions page
See every supplement checked against Azilsartan, 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
Sesame monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place Azilsartan supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against Azilsartan, ranked by severity Azilsartan 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 Sesame and Azilsartan Together: Common Questions

Can you take Sesame with Azilsartan?
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 Sesame and Azilsartan?
Azilsartan belongs to more than one drug category, and Sesame 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 Sesame and Azilsartan 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 Azilsartan and Sesame?

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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.