inactive ingredients
Non-therapeutic pill contents
Inactive ingredients are the components of a medication, food product, or cosmetic that serve purposes other than the primary therapeutic or functional effect.
In pharmaceuticals, inactive ingredients include fillers, binders, colorings, and flavorings that give a pill its shape, texture, or taste without contributing to its medicinal action: The tablet contains acetaminophen as the active ingredient; cornstarch and magnesium stearate are inactive ingredients.
Despite the name, some people react to these supposedly inert substances.
- bindersPaper-organizing ring holders
- binding agentsSubstances creating cohesion
- flavoringsSubstances adding taste
- preservativesDecay-preventing substances
- expiration dateFinal day of validity
colorants · food coloring · adjuvants · fillers · diluents · stabilizers · shelf life · lubricants · waxes · alcohols · silicones · starches · polymers · acids · surfactants · bases · sweeteners · esters
- medication labelsdrug name, brand name, generic name, dosage, directions
- pharmacologypharmacology, drugs, pharmacokinetics, dose, drug
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