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[BK-2020-09.git] / en.wikipedia.org / Active_ingredient / article.txt

{{short description|Biologically active component in a pharmaceutical drug or pesticide}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2023}}
An '''active ingredient''' is any [[ingredient]] that provides [[biological activity|biologically active]] or other direct effect in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease or to affect the structure or any function of the body of humans or animals.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Center for Drug Evaluation and Research |accessdate=2022-02-03 |title=Drugs@FDA Glossary of Terms |url=https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-approvals-and-databases/drugsfda-glossary-terms |journal=FDA |language=en |date=2017-11-14 }}</ref>

The similar terms '''active pharmaceutical ingredient''' (abbreviated as '''API''') and '''bulk active''' are also used in medicine.<ref name="FTLOScience">{{cite web |url=https://ftloscience.com/drug-tablet-design/ |title=Drug Tablet Design: Why Pills Come in So Many Shapes and Sizes |date=2022-11-23 |first=Sean |last=Lim |accessdate=2023-03-05 |work=FTLOScience }}</ref><ref name="uscfr_2023_fdadrugdefinitions">{{cite web |title = § 207.1 What definitions and interpretations of terms apply to this part? |date = 2023-07-19 |work = US Code of Federal Regulations |url          = https://www.ecfr.gov/on/2023-07-19/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-207/subpart-A/section-207.1 |access-date = 2023-07-25 |publisher = US Government Publishing Office  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230725213043/https://www.ecfr.gov/on/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-207/subpart-A/section-207.1 |archive-date = 2023-07-25 |url-status = live |quote = Active pharmaceutical ingredient means any substance that is intended for incorporation into a finished drug product and is intended to furnish pharmacological activity or other direct effect in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or to affect the structure or any function of the body. Active pharmaceutical ingredient does not include intermediates used in the synthesis of the substance.  }}</ref> The term '''active substance''' may be used for [[natural product]]s.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Some medication products can contain more than one active ingredient. The traditional word for the active pharmaceutical agent is '''pharmacon''' or '''pharmakon''' (from {{lang-el|φάρμακον}}, adapted from ''[[pharmacos]]'') which originally denoted a [[Potion|magical substance]] or drug.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

The terms '''active constituent''' or '''active principle''' are often chosen when referring to the active [[chemical substance|substance]] of interest in a plant (such as [[salicylic acid]] in [[willow]] bark or [[arecoline]] in [[areca nut]]s), since the word "ingredient" can be taken to [[connotation|connote]] a sense of human agency (that is, something that a person combines with other substances), whereas the natural products present in plants were not added by any human agency but rather occurred naturally ("a plant doesn't have ingredients").{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

In contrast with the active ingredients, the inactive ingredients are usually called [[excipient]]s in pharmaceutical contexts. The main excipient that serves as a medium for conveying the active ingredient is usually called the [[wikt:vehicle#Noun|vehicle]]. For example, [[Petroleum jelly|petrolatum]] and [[mineral oil]] are common vehicles. The term 'inactive' should not, however, be misconstrued as meaning [[Chemically inert|inert]].{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

== Pharmaceuticals ==
{{main article|Pharmaceutical}}
The [[dosage form]] for a pharmaceutical contains the active pharmaceutical ingredient, which is the drug substance itself, and excipients, which are the ingredients of the tablet, or the liquid in which the active agent is suspended, or other material that is pharmaceutically inert. Drugs are chosen primarily for their active ingredients. During formulation development, the excipients are chosen carefully so that the active ingredient can reach the target site in the body at the desired rate and extent.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Patients often have difficulty identifying the active ingredients in their medication, as well as being unaware of the notion of an active ingredient. When patients are on multiple medications, active ingredients can interfere with each other, often resulting in severe or life-threatening complications.<ref name=Lee>{{cite web |last=Lee |first=Dennis | editor=Marks, Jay M. |url=http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=18972 |website=[[MedicineNet]] |title=Drug Interactions: Know the Ingredients, Consult Your Physician |date=2009-04-14 }}</ref>

Many online services can help identify the active ingredient of most medications, such as the Medicines Database providing information on medications available in Australia.<ref name=finder>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.org.au/medicines |url-status=dead |title=Medicines | publisher=[[NPS MedicineWise]] |date=2012-10-28 |access-date=2014-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423083539/http://www.nps.org.au/medicines |archive-date=2017-04-23 }}</ref>

== Herbal medicine ==
{{main article|Herbal medicine}}
In phytopharmaceutical or [[herbal medicine]], the active ingredient may be either unknown or may require [[Cofactor (biochemistry)|cofactors]] in order to achieve therapeutic goals. This leads to complications in labelling. One way manufacturers have attempted to indicate strength is to engage in [[standardization]] to a [[Biomarker|marker]] compound. Standardization has not been achieved yet, however, with different companies using different markers, or different levels of the same markers, or different methods of testing for marker compounds. For example, [[Hypericum perforatum|St John's wort]] is often standardized to the [[hypericin]] that is now known not to be the "active ingredient" for [[antidepressant]] use.  Other companies standardize to [[hyperforin]] or both, ignoring some 24 known additional possible active constituents. Many herbalists believe that the active ingredient in a plant is the plant itself.<ref>{{citation |title=American Herbalism |year=1992 |editor=Tierra, Michael |publisher=Crossings Press }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Formulation]]
* [[Medication]]
* [[Pharmakos]]
* [[Regulation of therapeutic goods]]
* [[Northeast of England Process Industry Cluster]]

== References ==
{{reflist|1}}

== External links ==
* [http://npic.orst.edu/npicfact.htm Pesticide Active Ingredient Fact Sheets] - [[National Pesticide Information Center]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Active Ingredient}}
[[Category:Pharmacology]]
[[Category:Life sciences industry]]

[[cs:Léčivo#Léčivá látka]]