The short answer
Avoid tyramine supplements while taking linezolid and for about two days after the last dose. Linezolid blocks the enzyme that clears tyramine, and tyramine doses above about 100 mg raised blood pressure in controlled studies. Normal dietary tyramine did not need restricting in those studies, but the label says to avoid large amounts of high-tyramine foods and drinks.
What this answer covers
Tyramine taken as a supplement ingredient, and high-tyramine foods or beverages, with linezolid by any route.
- Supplement or preparation
- tyramine
- Medication ingredient
- linezolid
What the controlled studies measured
In healthy volunteers taking linezolid 625 mg twice daily, eight of ten had a clear rise in blood pressure after oral tyramine, compared with one of ten on placebo. The effect matched moclobemide, a reversible MAO inhibitor, and disappeared within two days of stopping linezolid. A second study found that after a single 600 mg dose, about half the usual intravenous tyramine dose was enough to raise systolic pressure by 30 mmHg.
What the label says
The linezolid label reports a significant pressor response with tyramine doses above 100 mg and tells patients to avoid large amounts of foods or beverages with high tyramine content. It also says linezolid should not be given to people with uncontrolled high blood pressure unless blood pressure is monitored.
A supplement dose is different from a normal diet
The study authors concluded that ordinary dietary tyramine did not need restricting, because the doses that raised blood pressure were larger than a usual meal provides. A tyramine supplement can deliver a defined, sometimes large, amount in one serving, which is the situation the 100 mg figure warns about. Check the label of any product marketed for blood pressure, mood or performance for tyramine or "tyrosine and tyramine" blends.
Timing after the last dose
Linezolid's enzyme inhibition is reversible, and the pressor responses in the volunteer study returned to baseline within two days of the last dose. No study tested spacing a tyramine supplement within a course of linezolid, so do not rely on taking the two at different times of day.
What to watch for
A severe or sudden headache, pounding or racing heartbeat, chest pain, or a very high blood pressure reading during treatment needs urgent medical care. Tell the prescriber about every supplement, decongestant and stimulant you use before starting linezolid.
Evidence and practical considerations
Timing & monitoring
Linezolid potentiates the pressor response to tyramine; oral doses above about 100 mg raised blood pressure in healthy volunteers, so tyramine supplements should be avoided during treatment and for about two days afterward.
- Exact scope
- Tyramine as a supplement ingredient or in high-tyramine foods and drinks. with Linezolid tablets, oral suspension and intravenous injection (ZYVOX and generics); the reversible, nonselective MAO inhibition is a property of the drug at all routes.
- Medication form and route
- oral medication; intravenous medication; oral supplement
- Timing or duration
- During treatment and for about two days after the last dose, based on pressor responses returning to baseline within two days
What remains uncertain
- Two small healthy-volunteer pharmacology studies and the label; no data in hypertensive patients or with marketed tyramine supplements; no tested spacing interval.
Factors that may matter: Tyramine dose; Time since last linezolid dose; Existing high blood pressure; Other sympathomimetic or serotonergic products.
Read the supporting source summaries
Source 1: current product label
dailymed.nlm.nih.gov · Source check Sep 22, 2026
Population: People prescribed linezolid
A significant pressor response was observed in normal adults receiving linezolid with tyramine doses above 100 mg; the label directs avoiding large amounts of high-tyramine foods or beverages and monitoring blood pressure in at-risk patients. Linezolid is a reversible, nonselective MAO inhibitor.
How this applies: Exact linezolid (RxCUI 190376) at every marketed route; the label names tyramine, pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine and serotonergic agents, not the supplements assessed here.
The label states a dose threshold from healthy volunteers, not a rate of events with tyramine supplements, and gives no separate spacing interval.
Source 2: original human study
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · Source check Sep 22, 2026
Population: Healthy adult volunteers (10 on linezolid).
Eight of ten linezolid subjects, eleven of eleven moclobemide subjects and one of ten placebo subjects had a positive pressor response; tyramine oral clearance fell; responses returned to baseline within two days of stopping. The authors concluded MAO inhibition was similar to moclobemide and that restricting normal dietary tyramine was not warranted.
How this applies: Direct evidence that linezolid potentiates oral tyramine at pharmacologic doses; the normal-diet interpretation is the authors' view and sits alongside the label precaution.
Small healthy-volunteer study read as an abstract; challenge doses were defined by a 30 mmHg systolic rise, not by supplement products.
Source 3: original human study
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · Source check Sep 22, 2026
Population: Twelve healthy male volunteers.
The dose of intravenous tyramine needed to raise systolic pressure by 30 mmHg fell 1.8-fold with linezolid (90% CI 1.6 to 2.0) and 2.1-fold with moclobemide.
How this applies: Confirms the MAO-A mediated pressor potentiation after a single dose; supports the direction of the tyramine precaution, not a supplement dose.
Intravenous tyramine bypasses gut metabolism, so the sensitivity factor does not translate directly to a swallowed dose; 12 healthy men; abstract only.
Research assessment: · Open full citations ↗
Review and change history
- Publication status
- Published research summary
- Clinical review
- Not yet recorded
| Date | Update |
|---|---|
| Research summary published | |
| Article prepared | |
| Prepared exact linezolid and Tyramine article from inspected current labeling and original sources, with uncertainty stated. |
Article revision: fc868c6c8596a17b
This guide brings together the evidence records used by our interaction checker. Each finding retains its own preparation limits, research date, and source summaries.
Full citations require verification. Reading this answer and the source summaries does not.
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Open the interaction checkerInformation, not medical advice. Do not change prescribed treatment based on this guide.