What does a tablet contain?

[Guest guest]

I was surprised to learn all that goes into a tablet -pill.

does anyone know of a website where you can check out ALL the

ingredients - active and non-active ingredients for a certain drug?

What does a tablet contain?

http://www.swallowingdifficulties.com/professional/formulation.htm

In addition to the active ingredient(s) tablets normally contain a

number of additional inactive ingredients known as excipients. These

excipients are used by manufacturers to ensure that tablets are

convenient to use and of a high quality.

A Tablet Contains:

There are many different types of coating that tablets and capsules

can have.

Find out more about tablet and capsule coatings and how they may

affect the action of the medicine. >>

TABLET EXCIPIENTS

Filler (or diluent):

Fillers are incorporated into the formulation to increase the bulk

volume of the powdered drug making up the tablet. This increases the

size of the tablet in order that it is of a size suitable for

handling. Fillers are only necessary if the dose of drug per tablet

is low and the tablet would otherwise be too small.

Disintegrant:

Disintegrants encourage the tablet to break down into small

fragments, ideally individual drug particles, when it is ingested.

This promotes the rapid dissolution and absorption of the drug,

enabling it to exert its therapeutic action more quickly.

Binder:

A binder is added to a drug-filler mixture to ensure that granules

and tablets can be formed with the required mechanical strength. They

hold a tablet together after it has been compressed, preventing it

from breaking down into its component powders during packaging,

shipping and routine handling.

Glidant:

The role of the glidant is to improve the flowability of the powder

making up the tablet during production.

Lubricant:

Lubricants ensure that the tableting powder does not adhere to the

equipment used to press the tablet during manufacture. They improve

the flow of the powder mixes through the presses and minimize

friction and breakage as the finished tablets are ejected from the

equipment.

Antiadherent:

The function of an antiadherent is similar to that of the glidant,

reducing adhesion between the powder making up the tablet and the

machine that is used to punch out the shape of the tablet during

manufacture.

Flavour:

Flavouring agents are incorporated into tablets to give them a more

pleasant taste or to mask an unpleasant one.

Colourant:

Colours are added to tablets to aid identification and patient

compliance.

Other links in this section:

[Guest guest]

BJ,

For US medicines, these are quite good (and accessible):

<http://www.rxlist.com/script/main/hp.asp>

<http://www.drugs.com/>

(I actually found a significant mistake on this site (inconsistently

sometimes used MG instead of MCG), reported it and they responded

speedily. Proved to be an NIH/FDA error - which was passed on to them

for correction. Impressed.)

For UK medicines, this *should be* quite good, but isn't. It is very

oddly incomplete with virtually no levothyroxine information. Maybe it

will improve in time?

<http://emc.medicines.org.uk/>

I'd hazard a guess that there are some other sites for other countries.

Partner switched to Levoxyl as a means of trying a levothyroxine

without many excipients, and specifically without lactose. (That is,

from the generic UK versions.) It might have helped... :-) But we had

to buy it over the internet rather than get free at a UK pharmacy. :-(

Rod

>

> I was surprised to learn all that goes into a tablet -pill.

>

> does anyone know of a website where you can check out ALL the

> ingredients - active and non-active ingredients for a certain drug?

>

>

> What does a tablet contain?

> http://www.swallowingdifficulties.com/professional/formulation.htm

>

> In addition to the active ingredient(s) tablets normally contain a

> number of additional inactive ingredients known as excipients. These

> excipients are used by manufacturers to ensure that tablets are

> convenient to use and of a high quality.

>

>

> A Tablet Contains:

>

> There are many different types of coating that tablets and capsules

> can have.

>

> Find out more about tablet and capsule coatings and how they may

> affect the action of the medicine. >>

>

> TABLET EXCIPIENTS

>

> Filler (or diluent):

> Fillers are incorporated into the formulation to increase the bulk

> volume of the powdered drug making up the tablet. This increases the

> size of the tablet in order that it is of a size suitable for

> handling. Fillers are only necessary if the dose of drug per tablet

> is low and the tablet would otherwise be too small.

>

> Disintegrant:

> Disintegrants encourage the tablet to break down into small

> fragments, ideally individual drug particles, when it is ingested.

> This promotes the rapid dissolution and absorption of the drug,

> enabling it to exert its therapeutic action more quickly.

> Binder:

> A binder is added to a drug-filler mixture to ensure that granules

> and tablets can be formed with the required mechanical strength. They

> hold a tablet together after it has been compressed, preventing it

> from breaking down into its component powders during packaging,

> shipping and routine handling.

>

> Glidant:

> The role of the glidant is to improve the flowability of the powder

> making up the tablet during production.

>

> Lubricant:

> Lubricants ensure that the tableting powder does not adhere to the

> equipment used to press the tablet during manufacture. They improve

> the flow of the powder mixes through the presses and minimize

> friction and breakage as the finished tablets are ejected from the

> equipment.

>

> Antiadherent:

> The function of an antiadherent is similar to that of the glidant,

> reducing adhesion between the powder making up the tablet and the

> machine that is used to punch out the shape of the tablet during

> manufacture.

>

> Flavour:

> Flavouring agents are incorporated into tablets to give them a more

> pleasant taste or to mask an unpleasant one.

>

> Colourant:

> Colours are added to tablets to aid identification and patient

> compliance.

>

> Other links in this section:

>