What is the Role of Over 100 Excipients in Over the Counter (OTC) Cough Medicines?

Most medicines are white bitter powders that are formulated as tablets and capsules but cough medicines are an exception where the taste and appearance of the medicine are more important to the patient than the pharmacology of the active ingredient. Excipients are generally defined as any ingredient in a medicine other than the active ingredient. In most medicines excipients play a supportive role in delivering the medicine, but in the case of cough medicines, excipients have more important and complex roles and they can also be the main active ingredient of the cough medicine as menthol, glycerol, and sugars, which are declared as active ingredients. This review searched the United Kingdom electronic medicines compendium (emc) and found over 100 excipients in 60 different liquid formulations of over the counter cough medicines. The excipients were divided into functional groups: sweeteners, thickeners, flavors, colors, antimicrobials, and buffers, and the incidence and function of the different excipients is discussed. When considering the efficacy of a cough medicine, clinicians and pharmacists tend to think of the pharmacology of antitussives such as dextromethorphan or expectorants such as guaifenesin, and they rarely consider the role of excipients in the efficacy of the medicine. This review discusses the functions and importance of excipients in cough medicines and provides some new information for clinicians, pharmacists, and all interested in the treatment of cough when considering the composition and efficacy of a cough medicine.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2020

Erschienen:

2020

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:198

Enthalten in:

Lung - 198(2020), 5 vom: 04. Okt., Seite 727-734

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Eccles, Ronald [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Antitussive Agents
Color
Cough
Excipients
Flavors
Journal Article
Menthol
Nonprescription Drugs
Pharmaceutical Solutions
Placebo effect
Review
Sweeteners
Thickeners

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 21.08.2021

Date Revised 29.02.2024

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1007/s00408-020-00390-x

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM314623698