Journal of Pharmaceutical Care & Health Systems
Open Access

The Significance of Active and Inactive Ingredients in Drugs

Mina Abbasnia^{* *}Correspondence: Mina Abbasnia, Department of Pharmacy, University of California, California, USA, Email:

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Description

An active ingredient is the biologically active ingredient present in a pharmaceutical drug. These are active substance used for natural products. Some drug products may hold more than one active ingredient. The Greek word for the active pharmaceutical agent is pharmakon or pharmacon which initially represented a substance or drug. In difference with the active ingredients, there are some inactive ingredients which are commonly called as excipients in pharmaceutical circumstances. The main excipient that assists as a medium for carrying the active ingredient is generally called the vehicle. Some examples for vehicles are petrolatum and mineral oil. The dosage form for a pharmaceutical drug comprises the active pharmaceutical ingredient, which act as a drug substance itself, and excipients, which are the main ingredients of the drug.

Significance

Drugs are chosen mainly for their active ingredients. During formulation development, the excipients are taken carefully so that the active ingredient can reach the target site in the body in desired rate and extent. Patients regularly have trouble in identifying the active ingredients in their medication, and are frequently unaware of the significance of an active ingredient. When the person taking different medications, active ingredients can interfere with each other and leads to lifethreatening complications or severe complications. Now-a-days some online services are developed in order to identify the active ingredient of most medications, such as the Medicines Database providing information on medications available in Australia. The active ingredients are also used in skin products it helps as anti-ageing, acne-fighting and more. It helps to bring long-term enhancements for the skin away from hydration. An active ingredient is the constituent of a tablet that's responsible for its therapeutic effects. These are responsive to post-processing unit operations. These helps to tablet to maintain it efficacy for a long time. In addition to giving a therapeutic use, an active ingredient can also leads to adverse effects. For example Sertraline Hydrochloride it causes several side effects such as constipation, diarrhea, nausea, insomnia, nervousness, skin rash, dizziness, and upset stomach. In Diabetes medications it may cause Nausea, heartburn, fatigue, dizziness. Inactive ingredients help to stabilize the drug and improve its absorption, and they occupy more than half of tablets mass. These helps to enhance the physical properties of the tablet. Some examples for specialized inactive ingredients are film coatings, binders, disintegrants and solubilisers. Excipients confirm the ingredients to flow efficiently throughout the equipment that manufactures them. The inactive ingredients used in transdermal medicines are adhesives and plastic films. These help to release the drug in the specific doses from a patch applied to the skin.

Conclusion

Solubilisers are common ingredient used in medications helps to carry the medicine through the skin into the blood stream. These have emulsifying, thickening and suspending properties based on their use. The European Union legislation practices the prefix E on permitted inactive ingredients, for eg E460 used for cellulose. If an inactive ingredient has no E number it represents it is not suitable for use. They may cause allergic reactions like hives, difficulty breathing or gastrointestinal symptoms.