L-Theanine Dosing for an 11-Year-Old Child
No Established Pediatric Guidelines Exist
There are no FDA-approved dosing guidelines or professional medical society recommendations for L-theanine use in children, including 11-year-olds, as this amino acid supplement lacks regulatory approval as a medication and has not been adequately studied in pediatric populations.
Evidence-Based Adult Dosing (Not Pediatric)
The available clinical evidence comes exclusively from adult studies:
- Standard adult dosing ranges from 200-400 mg daily for anxiety and stress management, administered for up to 8 weeks in controlled trials 1
- A single 100 mg dose showed measurable plasma concentrations peaking at 0.8 hours post-ingestion in healthy adults 2
- The 400 mg daily dose (given as a single dose) was used safely in adults with schizophrenia over 8 weeks 3
- Doses of 100-200 mg improved simple reaction times in healthy young adults 4
Safety Profile from Adult Studies
- The no observable adverse effect level (NOAEL) was determined to be above 2000 mg/kg/day in toxicology studies 5
- L-theanine was well-tolerated at 400 mg daily in adult psychiatric patients without significant adverse effects 3
- The compound is rapidly absorbed and metabolized to ethylamine and glutamic acid, with comparable kinetics whether consumed via capsules or green tea 2
Critical Clinical Considerations
Given the complete absence of pediatric safety and efficacy data, any use in an 11-year-old would be off-label and should only occur after:
- Consultation with the child's pediatrician or pediatric psychiatrist to evaluate the underlying condition requiring treatment
- Consideration of FDA-approved alternatives with established pediatric dosing (if treating anxiety, ADHD, or sleep disorders)
- If proceeding despite lack of pediatric data, a conservative approach would be to start at 50-100 mg daily (approximately 25-50% of the standard adult dose), though this recommendation is extrapolated from adult data without pediatric validation 5, 1
Important Caveats
- No pediatric pharmacokinetic studies exist to guide weight-based or age-based dosing adjustments 5
- The long-term safety profile in developing children is unknown
- Cases of hepatotoxicity have been reported with green tea extract consumption, though the relationship to isolated L-theanine is unclear 1
- L-theanine is not a sedative but works through anxiolysis, so it should not be expected to produce drowsiness 5