Clipping Board » Drug Poisoning ─ It is necessary to be aware of the toxic side effects before taking medication.
United Evening News / Reporter Huang Yufang / Taipei Report 2015.04.26
When you take a pill, most of its ingredients are excipients. Many people are unfamiliar with excipients. Scholars use anticoagulants, commonly prescribed for cardiovascular disease patients, as an example. In a 0.22-gram pill, the active ingredient is only 0.005 grams, while the other 95% consists of excipients.
Professor Shen Lijuan from the Institute of Clinical Pharmacy at National Taiwan University explained that excipients serve functions such as diluents, binders, lubricants, colorants, and flavoring agents. They can make children's medicine taste sweet and appear in fruit-like colors such as red or purple. They also shape the medication into tablets, control their stability to prevent immediate disintegration upon ingestion, and regulate the release time in the gastrointestinal tract.
Shen Lijuan noted that, for example, the anticoagulant Warfarin contains only 0.005 grams of the active ingredient with therapeutic effects, while the remaining 95% consists of excipients. This is the case for most medications.
As a result, two drugs (A and B) with the same active ingredient may look similar in appearance, but a patient might be allergic to one of them. The reason could be an allergy to the excipients. For instance, lactose is a common excipient, but people with lactose intolerance may experience diarrhea after taking such medication.
Shen Lijuan believes that both food and pharmaceutical products should be managed from the source of raw materials. Otherwise, inspecting finished products may not easily reveal issues. In addition to requiring manufacturers to disclose the names and types of excipients, the Food and Drug Administration should establish safety standards for excipients to prevent incidents like the addition of industrial-grade materials in stomach medicines from recurring. If patients develop rashes or other symptoms after taking medication, they must consult their doctor.
Source: http://m. udn. com/ xhtml/ HistoryArt? articleid=4297851
One Pill, 95% Filler
When you take a pill, most of its ingredients are excipients. Many people are unfamiliar with excipients. Scholars use anticoagulants, commonly prescribed for cardiovascular disease patients, as an example. In a 0.22-gram pill, the active ingredient is only 0.005 grams, while the other 95% consists of excipients.
Professor Shen Lijuan from the Institute of Clinical Pharmacy at National Taiwan University explained that excipients serve functions such as diluents, binders, lubricants, colorants, and flavoring agents. They can make children's medicine taste sweet and appear in fruit-like colors such as red or purple. They also shape the medication into tablets, control their stability to prevent immediate disintegration upon ingestion, and regulate the release time in the gastrointestinal tract.
Shen Lijuan noted that, for example, the anticoagulant Warfarin contains only 0.005 grams of the active ingredient with therapeutic effects, while the remaining 95% consists of excipients. This is the case for most medications.
As a result, two drugs (A and B) with the same active ingredient may look similar in appearance, but a patient might be allergic to one of them. The reason could be an allergy to the excipients. For instance, lactose is a common excipient, but people with lactose intolerance may experience diarrhea after taking such medication.
Shen Lijuan believes that both food and pharmaceutical products should be managed from the source of raw materials. Otherwise, inspecting finished products may not easily reveal issues. In addition to requiring manufacturers to disclose the names and types of excipients, the Food and Drug Administration should establish safety standards for excipients to prevent incidents like the addition of industrial-grade materials in stomach medicines from recurring. If patients develop rashes or other symptoms after taking medication, they must consult their doctor.
Source: http://m. udn. com/ xhtml/ HistoryArt? articleid=4297851