Theophylline 5mg/5ml oral solution
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
A methylxanthine derivative from tea with diuretic, smooth muscle relaxant, bronchial dilation, cardiac and central nervous system stimulant activities.
Genetic variations that may affect drug response
1 known genetic variation may influence how your body responds to Theophylline 5mg/5ml oral solution.Gene involved: CYP1A2
These are known genetic variations. They don't mean the medicine won't work for you — speak to your doctor or a pharmacogenomics specialist for personalised advice. Source: DrugBank (CC BY-NC 4.0).
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
Report a side effect
Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
Safety monitoring data
Yellow Card reports
The MHRA Yellow Card scheme collects reports of suspected side effects from healthcare professionals and patients. View the Drug Analysis Profile (iDAP) for real-world adverse reaction data.
View Drug Analysis Profile
Suspected adverse reactions reported for Theophylline
Browse all iDAP reports
Interactive Drug Analysis Profiles for all medicines
Report a side effect
Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
Data from the MHRA Yellow Card scheme. A reported reaction does not necessarily mean the medicine caused it. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
EudraVigilance
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) collects suspected adverse reaction reports from across the EU/EEA through the EudraVigilance system. Search for safety data on this medicine.
View EudraVigilance report
Suspected adverse reactions reported for Theophylline
About EudraVigilance
Learn about EU pharmacovigilance and safety monitoring
EudraVigilance data is published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A suspected adverse reaction is not necessarily caused by the medicine.
1 branded products available
Part of the Nuelin brand family (generic: Theophylline)
MHRA licensed products
View all licensed products for Theophylline on the MHRA register
WHO defined daily dose (DDD)
400 mg
Not a recommended dose. The DDD is the assumed average maintenance dose per day for a drug used for its main indication in adults. It is a statistical measure used for research and comparison purposes only.
Source: WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology, distributed via the NHS dm+d supplementary BNF/ATC mapping files (NHSBSA). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Therapeutically similar medicines
Similarity is based on WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and on a factual NHS dm+d therapeutic-grouping code prefix. Source data: NHS dm+d via TRUD (OGL v3.0), WHO ATC/DDD Index.
NHS prescribing volume and spending trends
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
NICE clinical guidance(11)
Roflumilast for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (TA461)
Reslizumab for treating severe eosinophilic asthma (TA479)
Gastroparesis in adults: oral erythromycin (ESUOM13)
Depression in adults with a chronic physical health problem: recognition and management (CG91)
Omalizumab for treating severe persistent allergic asthma (TA278)
Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and dyspepsia in adults: investigation and management (CG184)
Asthma (QS25)
Alair bronchial thermoplasty system for adults with severe difficult to control asthma (MIB71)
Tobacco: preventing uptake, promoting quitting and treating dependence (NG209)
Asthma: diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management (BTS, NICE, SIGN) (NG245)
Obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome and obesity hypoventilation syndrome in over 16s (NG202)
Source: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Check stock at pharmacies and supply information
Pharmacy stock checkers
Search for this medicine at major UK pharmacy chains. These links open the retailer's own website — results depend on their current online catalogue.
Supply & safety information
Official UK regulator monitoring and safety alerts
Pharmacy links redirect to the retailer's own search and do not represent real-time stock levels. Shortage and safety information sourced from MHRA drug safety updates (gov.uk, Crown Copyright under OGL v3.0).
Codes for healthcare professionals and prescribing systems
These codes are used by healthcare IT systems and prescribers to identify this medicine.
NHS UK identifiers
Browse tools
SNOMED CT and dm+d codes from NHS TRUD (Technology Reference data Update Distribution), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. BNF code shown is the factual mapping value distributed by NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) in the dm+d supplementary file under OGL v3.0; it is not affiliated with, nor licensed from, the publishers of the British National Formulary. ATC codes from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology (whocc.no).
Active and completed clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Data accessed via ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Trial information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Academic studies and reviews for this medicine's active substance
Showing the 50 most relevant studies.
Reviews & meta-analyses: 13 · Randomised trials: 7 · 1957–2026
Showing the 50 most relevant studies, sorted by most relevant.
S. Bagshaw, W. Ghali
Archives of internal medicine, 2005
- Angiography
- Contrast Media
- Kidney Diseases
D. Murciano, Marie-Hélène Auclair, R. Pariente, et al.
The New England journal of medicine, 1989
- Bronchitis
- Carbon Dioxide
- Clinical Trials as Topic
Yang Q, Tang P, Zhang X
2025
- Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
- Theophylline
- Bronchodilator Agents
Gulixian Mahemuti, Hui Zhang, Jing Li, et al.
Drug Design, Development and Therapy, 2018
R. Ogilvie
Clinical Pharmacokinetics, 1978
- Age Factors
- Blood Proteins
- Body Weight
P. Barnes
American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 2003
- Asthma
- Bronchodilator Agents
- Histone Deacetylases
Leslie Hendeles, Miles Weinberger
Pharmacotherapy The Journal of Human Pharmacology and Drug Therapy, 1983
- Absorption
- Biotransformation
- Chemistry
Peter J. Barnes, RA Pauwels
European Respiratory Journal, 1994
- Asthma
- Bronchodilator Agents
- Theophylline
Miles Weinberger, Leslie Hendeles
New England Journal of Medicine, 1996
- Asthma
- Theophylline
M. Ghannoum, T. Wiegand, Kathleen D. Liu, et al.
Clinical Toxicology, 2015
Sources: aggregated from Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI), OpenAlex, Crossref, PubMed and other open scholarly databases. Retracted articles are excluded. Study information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Pharmacology and chemical data from DrugBank
Key facts
Drug status
Approved
Major interactions
None known
Half-life
8 hours
Mechanism
Theophylline relaxes the smooth muscle of the bronchial airways and pulmonary bl…
Food interactions
3 warnings
Human targets
12 targets
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
Half-life
8 hours
Protein binding
40%
Volume of distribution
0.3 to 0.7 L/kg
Metabolism
6%
Elimination
50%
Clearance
0.29 mL
* 0.64…
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 1213 interactions
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
Caffeine and 3-methylxanthine are the only theophylline metabolites with pharmacologic activity.
* 0.64 mL/kg/min [Premature neonates, postnatal age 25-57 days]
* 1.7 mL/kg/min [Children 1-4 years]
* 1.6 mL/kg/min [Children 4-12 years]
* 0.9 mL/kg/min [Children 13-15 years]
* 1.4 mL/kg/min [Children 16-17 years]
* 0.65 mL/kg/min [Adults (16-60 years), otherwise healthy non-smoking asthmatics]
* 0.41 mL/kg/min [Elderly (>60 years), non-smokers with normal cardiac, liver, and renal function]
* 0.33 mL/kg/min [Acute pulmonary edema]
* 0.54 mL/kg/min [COPD >60 years, stable, non-smoker >1 year]
* 0.48 mL/kg/min [COPD with cor pulmonale]
* 1.25 mL/kg/min [Cystic fibrosis (14-28 years)]
* 0.31 mL/kg/min [Liver disease cirrhosis]
* 0.35 mL/kg/min [acute hepatitis]
* 0.65 mL/kg/min [cholestasis]
* 0.47 mL/kg/min [Sepsis with multi-organ failure]
* 0.38 mL/kg/min [hypothyroid]
* 0.8 mL/kg/min [hyperthyroid]
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
PMID:15260978
May be involved in mediating central nervous system effects of therapeutic agents ranging from antidepressants to antiasthmatic and anti-inflammatory agents
PMID:15489334 PMID:9714779
Specifically regulates nitric-oxide-generated cGMP PMID:15489334
Enzymes involved in drug metabolism — important for understanding drug interactions
Proteins that transport this drug across cell membranes
PMID:11327718 PMID:18216183 PMID:21446918 PMID:28945155
Contributes to the renal and hepatic elimination of endogenous organic compounds from the systemic circulation into the urine and bile, respectively .
PMID:11327718 PMID:25904762
Capable of transporting a wide range of purine and pyrimidine nucleobases, nucleosides and nucleotides, with cGMP, 2'deoxyguanosine and GMP being the preferred substrates .
PMID:11327718 PMID:18216183 PMID:26377792 PMID:28945155
Functions as a pH- and chloride-independent cGMP bidirectional facilitative transporter that can regulate both intracellular and extracellular levels of cGMP and may be involved in cGMP signaling pathways .
PMID:18216183 PMID:26377792
Mediates orotate/glutamate bidirectional exchange and most likely display a physiological role in hepatic release of glutamate into the blood .
PMID:21446918
Involved in renal secretion and possible reabsorption of creatinine .
PMID:25904762 PMID:28945155
Able to uptake prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and may contribute to PGE2 renal excretion (Probable). Also transports alpha-ketoglutarate and urate .
PMID:11327718 PMID:26377792
Apart from the orotate/glutamate exchange, the counterions for the uptake of other SLC22A7/OAT2 substrates remain to be identified PMID:26377792
ATC R03DA54
ATC R03DA74
ATC R03DA20
ATC R03DA04
ATC R03DB04
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Show
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Linked compound data from DrugBank Open Data (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Theophylline
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
231
ChemSpider
2068
BindingDB
10847
PDB
TEP
Guide to Pharmacology
413
ZINC
ZINC000018043251
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:262
GenAtlas
ADORA1
GeneCards
ADORA1
GenBank Gene Database
S45235
GenBank Protein Database
256155
Guide to Pharmacology
18
UniProt Accession
AA1R_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:263
GenAtlas
ADORA2A
GeneCards
ADORA2A
GenBank Gene Database
M97370
GenBank Protein Database
177892
Guide to Pharmacology
19
UniProt Accession
AA2AR_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:264
GenAtlas
ADORA2B
GeneCards
ADORA2B
GenBank Gene Database
M97759
GenBank Protein Database
178150
Guide to Pharmacology
20
UniProt Accession
AA2BR_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:8781
GenAtlas
PDE4B
GeneCards
PDE4B
GenBank Gene Database
L20966
GenBank Protein Database
347122
Guide to Pharmacology
1301
UniProt Accession
PDE4B_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:8784
GenAtlas
PDE5A
GeneCards
PDE5A
GenBank Gene Database
AF043731
GenBank Protein Database
3420185
Guide to Pharmacology
1304
UniProt Accession
PDE5A_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:8780
GenAtlas
PDE4A
GeneCards
PDE4A
GenBank Gene Database
L20965
GenBank Protein Database
347120
Guide to Pharmacology
1300
UniProt Accession
PDE4A_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:8778
GenAtlas
PDE3A
GeneCards
PDE3A
GenBank Gene Database
M91667
GenBank Protein Database
38201493
Guide to Pharmacology
1298
UniProt Accession
PDE3A_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4853
GenAtlas
HDAC2
GeneCards
HDAC2
GenBank Gene Database
U31814
GenBank Protein Database
1667394
Guide to Pharmacology
2616
UniProt Accession
HDAC2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:270
GenAtlas
PARP1
GeneCards
PARP1
GenBank Gene Database
X16674
GenBank Protein Database
1017423
Guide to Pharmacology
2771
UniProt Accession
PARP1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:30338
GeneCards
RIC3
UniProt Accession
RIC3_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:8021
GenAtlas
NT5E
GeneCards
NT5E
GenBank Gene Database
X55740
GenBank Protein Database
23897
Guide to Pharmacology
1232
UniProt Accession
5NTD_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2314
GeneCards
CPNE1
UniProt Accession
CPNE1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2595
GeneCards
CYP1A1
GenBank Gene Database
K03191
GenBank Protein Database
181276
Guide to Pharmacology
1318
UniProt Accession
CP1A1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2597
GenAtlas
CYP1B1
GeneCards
CYP1B1
GenBank Gene Database
U03688
GenBank Protein Database
501031
Guide to Pharmacology
1320
UniProt Accession
CP1B1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2625
GenAtlas
CYP2D6
GeneCards
CYP2D6
GenBank Gene Database
M20403
GenBank Protein Database
181350
Guide to Pharmacology
1329
UniProt Accession
CP2D6_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2596
GenAtlas
CYP1A2
GeneCards
CYP1A2
GenBank Gene Database
Z00036
Guide to Pharmacology
1319
UniProt Accession
CP1A2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:186
GenAtlas
ADA
GeneCards
ADA
GenBank Gene Database
X02994
GenBank Protein Database
28380
Guide to Pharmacology
1230
UniProt Accession
ADA_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2631
GeneCards
CYP2E1
GenBank Gene Database
J02625
GenBank Protein Database
181360
Guide to Pharmacology
1330
UniProt Accession
CP2E1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2637
GenAtlas
CYP3A4
GeneCards
CYP3A4
GenBank Gene Database
M18907
Guide to Pharmacology
1337
UniProt Accession
CP3A4_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:10971
GeneCards
SLC22A7
GenBank Gene Database
AF097518
GenBank Protein Database
5001689
UniProt Accession
S22A7_HUMAN
DrugBank citations
If you use DrugBank data in your research, please cite the following publications:
Show earlier publications
Structured knowledge from the free knowledge base
ATC classifications (Wikidata)
Linked open data from Wikidata (Q407308), a free and open knowledge base operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Data is available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication.