Drug & supplement interaction

Sesame + Captopril

Captopril brand names: Capoten, Acepril.

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

Sesame has a moderate interaction with Captopril. Taking sesame oil with antihypertensive drugs might increase the risk of hypotension.

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

Sesame and Captopril

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

Moderate

ANTIHYPERTENSIVE DRUGS

Why this applies to Captopril

Captopril 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 simple version: sesame, especially sesame oil used in place of other cooking oils, may gently nudge your blood pressure down on its own. Since captopril is already working to relax your blood vessels and lower blood pressure, the two together could add up. The concern isn't that sesame changes how captopril is broken down. It's that both push in the same direction.

If your pressure drops too low, you might feel dizzy, lightheaded, or tired, especially when standing up quickly. Keep in mind this is mostly theoretical, based on how sesame oil behaves, and normal amounts of sesame seeds sprinkled on food are unlikely to matter. If you cook regularly with a lot of sesame oil, mention it to your pharmacist or doctor so they can keep an eye on your readings.

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

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 Captopril one above is one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 342 Minor 185 No known interaction 2,303 (incl. Captopril)
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 Captopril

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 Captopril, 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 Captopril

This page covers Sesame only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Captopril page lists 166 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), Asarabacca (major) and Siberian Cocklebur (major).

By severity: 6 major · 136 moderate · 24 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Captopril page

“Anyone taking captopril (Capoten), an ACE inhibitor for high blood pressure and heart failure, should treat this list with genuine care rather than a quick skim. Most of the ingredients here act on blood pressure itself, some dropping it lower than intended and others, tyramine among them, pushing it back up and working against the med…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Captopril 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 Captopril 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 Captopril 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 25%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Captopril
Top 25%

#571 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 Captopril

What Is Captopril Used For?

Brand names: Capoten, Acepril

Captopril tablets are used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension), heart failure, and left ventricular dysfunction (weakened pumping function of the heart) in stable patients after a heart attack. For the heart attack indication, it helps improve survival and reduces the chance of developing full heart failure.

Captopril tablets are also used to slow the progression of diabetic nephropathy (kidney damage caused by diabetes) in people with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes who have retinopathy and significant protein in their urine. It reduces the risk of the kidneys failing to the point of needing dialysis or a transplant.

See full Captopril 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 Captopril, 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 Captopril supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against Captopril, ranked by severity Captopril 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 Captopril Together: Common Questions

Can you take Sesame with Captopril?
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.
How serious is the Sesame and Captopril 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 Captopril 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.