Drug & supplement interaction

Theanine + Carmustine

Carmustine brand names: Gliadel, BiCNU, Gliadel Wafer.

No Known Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 13, 2026
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Theanine and Carmustine in our sources. Absence of a documented interaction is not the same as proven safety, and does not guarantee one does not exist. Do not start, stop, or change a medication or supplement based on this page; confirm with your pharmacist or doctor first.

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Interaction report

Theanine and Carmustine

We checked these two against our interaction database. Here is what we found.

No Known Interaction Found

We did not find a documented interaction between Carmustine and Theanine in our sources. This does not guarantee that the combination is completely free of risk — there is often limited research on supplements and herbal products, especially around drug interactions.

If you decide to take both, the practical routine is simple: add one new thing at a time and note the date you started it. If the combination is going to disagree with you, it usually shows in the first days to a couple of weeks — and a start date turns “I’ve been feeling off” into something a pharmacist can actually work with. Do not stop a prescribed medicine on your own.

Always talk with your pharmacist or doctor before making changes to your medications or supplements, particularly if you take several medications or have an ongoing health condition.

Theanine safety at a glance

Theanine overall Use caution Generally well tolerated in healthy adults for short-term use, but long-term safety is not well studied.
Pregnancy Avoid Not enough safety data, so it is best to avoid supplements during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Avoid Not enough safety data, so it is best to avoid supplements while breastfeeding.

Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Still wondering about combining Carmustine and Theanine? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Carmustine

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Carmustine is filed under 2 classifications — alkylating agents, oral drugs. Theanine has documented interactions with 3 drug classes — the most serious being antihypertensive drugs (moderate), cns depressants (minor) and serotonergic drugs (minor) — and none of Carmustine’s classifications are among them.

Classification data comes from our licensed Natural Medicines dataset. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded there, so this describes how the check was run — it is not a safety guarantee.

Keep it in perspective

Theanine Does Interact With Other Medications

Theanine has 172 moderate, 393 minor known drug interactions in our database — Carmustine isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 172 Minor 393 No known interaction 2,265 (incl. Carmustine)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Theanine

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

What to actually watch for

What Theanine Itself Has Been Linked To

This is not an interaction — nothing below involves Carmustine. It is the side-effect record for Theanine on its own, from the licensed Natural Medicines monograph. If something new turns up after you add Theanine, this list is the first place to look.

  • Drowsiness / Headache Additional detail

    “Orally, L-theanine may cause headaches. Patients have also reported drowsiness, increased duration of sleep, and increased dream activity after oral L-theanine use.

    A case of subtle facial tic starting within 4 days of taking L-theanine 400 mg daily has been reported for a pediatric patient. Although the tics reportedly ceased once theanine was discontinued, the child had exhibited tics in the past.”

    Theanine · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in insomnia.

    3 sources cited
    1. 36439. Haskell, C. F., Kennedy, D. O., Milne, A. L., Wesnes, K. A., and Scholey, A. B. The effects of L-theanine, caffeine and their combination on cognition and mood. Biol.Psychol. 2008;77(2):113-122. PubMed
    2. 96331. Hidese S, Ota M, Wakabayashi C, et al. Effects of chronic l-theanine administration in patients with major depressive disorder: an open-label study. Acta Neuropsychiatr 2017;29(2):72-9.
    3. 91744. Lyon MR, Kapoor MP, Juneja LR. The effects of L-theanine (Suntheanine®) on objective sleep quality in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Altern Med Rev. 2011;16(4):348-

Everything above comes from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record for Theanine — expand a row for the licensed statement it rests on. We read the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of Carmustine’s FDA label too, and the two lists don’t meaningfully overlap — which is why no Carmustine column appears here.

Overlapping uses

What Carmustine Is Prescribed For, and What Theanine Has Been Studied For

These two come up together because they touch the same health topic — not because they do the same job. Carmustine is a prescription medicine with approved uses on its FDA label. Theanine is a supplement: what follows is what researchers have looked at it for, and how strong that evidence is.

Carmustine is prescribed for: Carmustine injection is used as palliative therapy — either alone or combined with other chemotherapy drugs — for several brain tumors, including glioblastoma, brainstem glioma, medulloblastoma, astrocytoma, ependymoma, and metastatic brain tumors. It is also used for multiple myeloma (in combination with prednisone), and for relapsed or refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma and Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (in combination with other approved drugs). Gliadel — a dissolving wafer form of carmustine placed directly into the brain during surgery — is specifically indicated for newly diagnosed high-grade glioma (as an addition to surgery and radiation) and for recurrent glioblastoma (as an addition to surgery).

Theanine has been studied for:

  • Cancer studied, not established Theanine has been studied for this. Natural Medicines rates the evidence: Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Read what the research shows

    Theanine for cancer

    Although there is interest in using oral theanine for cancer, there is insufficient reliable information about the clinical effects of theanine for this condition.

Effectiveness ratings and the research summaries above are the verbatim record from the Natural Medicines database, which grades evidence from “Effective” down to “Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate”. A rating below the top of that scale means researchers have looked at it — not that it works, and never that it can stand in for a prescribed medicine. Do not stop or replace Carmustine on your own; if you are taking Theanine for the same health topic, tell your prescriber, especially if the medicine is being adjusted to a target.

From our Q&A

Questions About Theanine or Carmustine

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

This page covers Theanine only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Carmustine page lists 24 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Acerola (moderate), Alpha-lipoic Acid (moderate), Coenzyme Q10 (moderate) and Coffee Charcoal (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 14 moderate · 9 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Carmustine page

“Activated charcoal is the entry to understand first. It holds the only major rating among the 24 ingredients on file for carmustine, and because it can trap drugs that recirculate through the gut, it may lower carmustine levels even when the chemotherapy arrives by IV or as an implanted Gliadel wafer.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Carmustine interaction page

One more smart check

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

We hold 3,298 real supplement products containing Theanine, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Theanine. Even though Theanine itself has no known interaction with Carmustine, another ingredient on your label might. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Theanine and Carmustine 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 Theanine
Top 5%

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

29 days ago today
Medication Carmustine
Top half

#735 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.

Where does our data come from?
  • Source: the Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) clinical database — the evidence-graded professional reference for herb & supplement interactions.
  • Citation library: 103,510 references behind our interaction content, 65,311 of them resolved to verified PubMed/DOI sources. See every Theanine reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Theanine and Carmustine records this page draws on were last updated July 10, 2026.
  • What “no known interaction” means: no documented interaction in the sources above — not a guarantee of safety. Supplements are studied far less than prescription drugs, so we say exactly what the evidence supports, and nothing more.
Data structure & sourcing designed and verified by .
Supplement

About Theanine

What is Theanine?

Theanine
  • Anxiety and stress
  • Relaxation and calm
  • Sleep support
  • Focus and cognitive function

Theanine (usually L-theanine) is an amino acid found naturally in tea leaves that many people take to feel calmer and less stressed without strong drowsiness. Early research suggests it may help with relaxation and stress, but evidence for most uses is still limited. It appears generally well tolerated for short-term use, but check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting it.

Naturally found in tea leaves; supplements often use a synthesized or extracted form · Capsules, tablets, chewable tablets, powders, gummies, and tea

An interaction check asks whether these two react with each other — it does not ask whether Theanine is a good idea for someone in your situation. Here is what our Theanine record says about it on its own.

Theanine: dosing

There is no official standardized dose of theanine, and the right amount can vary by product and reason for use. The best approach is to follow the directions on the product label and not exceed them.Because supplements are not tightly regulated, doses and quality differ between brands.

From our Theanine monograph — the full record covers uses, side effects and every documented interaction.

Read the full Theanine monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Carmustine

What Is Carmustine Used For?

Brand names: Gliadel, BiCNU, Gliadel Wafer

Carmustine injection is used as palliative therapy — either alone or combined with other chemotherapy drugs — for several brain tumors, including glioblastoma, brainstem glioma, medulloblastoma, astrocytoma, ependymoma, and metastatic brain tumors. It is also used for multiple myeloma (in combination with prednisone), and for relapsed or refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma and Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (in combination with other approved drugs).

Gliadel — a dissolving wafer form of carmustine placed directly into the brain during surgery — is specifically indicated for newly diagnosed high-grade glioma (as an addition to surgery and radiation) and for recurrent glioblastoma (as an addition to surgery).

Most-Reported Side Effects for Carmustine

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (0 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Febrile neutropenia 391 reports
Myelodysplastic syndrome 296 reports
Disease progression 292 reports
Thrombocytopenia 250 reports
Fever 238 reports
See full Carmustine drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Theanine

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

0Major
172Moderate
393Minor
2,264No known interaction
172 Moderate 393 Minor 2,264 No interaction
Moderate

172 interactions

Showing 60 of 172 moderate interactions — see all 172 on the Theanine page.

Minor

393 interactions

Showing 60 of 393 minor interactions — see all 393 on the Theanine page.

No interaction 2,264 drugs checked — show the list

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

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,264 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Theanine list.

See the full Theanine interactions page
See every supplement checked against Carmustine, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Theanine References

The 6 references that drive our Theanine monograph and interaction data, from the evidence-graded Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) database. Citations with a link open the study on PubMed or the publisher’s site.

  1. Yokogoshi H, Kobayashi M. Hypotensive effect of gamma-glutamylethylamide in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Life Sci 1998;62:1065-8.
  2. Haskell, C. F., Kennedy, D. O., Milne, A. L., Wesnes, K. A., and Scholey, A. B. The effects of L-theanine, caffeine and their combination on cognition and mood. Biol.Psychol. 2008;77(2):113-122. PubMed
  3. Yokogoshi, H., Kato, Y., Sagesaka, Y. M., Takihara-Matsuura, T., Kakuda, T., and Takeuchi, N. Reduction effect of theanine on blood pressure and brain 5-hydroxyindoles in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Biosci.Biotechnol.Biochem. 1995;59(4):615-618. PubMed
  4. Lyon MR, Kapoor MP, Juneja LR. The effects of L-theanine (Suntheanine®) on objective sleep quality in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Altern Med Rev. 2011;16(4):348-
  5. Hidese S, Ota M, Wakabayashi C, et al. Effects of chronic l-theanine administration in patients with major depressive disorder: an open-label study. Acta Neuropsychiatr 2017;29(2):72-9.
  6. Tsuchiya T, Honda H, Oikawa M, et al. Oral administration of the amino acids cystine and theanine attenuates the adverse events of S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy in gastrointestinal cancer patients. Int J Clin Oncol 2016;21(6):1085-90. PubMed

Medication overviews come from MedlinePlus (NIH); supplement label data from the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database. Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Theanine and Carmustine Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Theanine with Carmustine?
We do not list a known interaction between Theanine and Carmustine. That does not guarantee the combination is risk-free, so confirm with your pharmacist or doctor — especially if you take other medications or have a health condition.
Are Theanine and Carmustine used for the same thing?
They overlap in purpose, which usually means the real question is whether you need both rather than whether they are safe together. This page lists the shared uses and how strong the evidence is for Theanine in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Carmustine is being adjusted to a target.
How was the Theanine and Carmustine combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Carmustine is filed under 2 classifications, and Theanine has documented interactions with 3 drug classes — none of Carmustine's classifications are among them. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded in our dataset, so this describes how the check was run rather than guaranteeing safety.
Does Theanine interact with any other medications?
Yes. Theanine has 565 documented drug interactions in our database — Carmustine is simply not one of them. If you take anything else, it is worth checking each one; they are all listed on this page.
Does Carmustine interact with any supplements?
Yes. Carmustine has documented interactions with 24 supplements in our database — Theanine is not one of them. The Carmustine interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

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

Where next

Keep Exploring

Theanine monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Carmustine drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Carmustine supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Carmustine, 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 References The 6 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Carmustine and Theanine?

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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.