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Pharmacy & Pharmacology vocabulary · Dosage Forms

Active ingredient

Meaning in pharmacy & pharmacology, with examples

nounCore term

In pharmacy & pharmacology, active ingredient means: The substance in a medicine that produces its therapeutic effect, as opposed to the other ingredients that give the product its shape, taste or stability.

In Turkish: etkin madde, etken madde

How it is used

Found on every pack and leaflet with its amount per unit, for example 'each tablet contains 500 mg paracetamol'. Pharmacists compare active ingredients so that patients do not take the same drug twice under different brand names. Also called active substance, or active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in manufacturing.

Example sentences

  1. Both products have the same active ingredient, so she shouldn't take them together.

  2. Check the active ingredient, not just the brand name on the box.

Common collocations

  • contain an active ingredient
  • same active ingredient
  • list of active ingredients
  • active pharmaceutical ingredient
  • excipientAny ingredient in a medicine other than the active ingredient, such as a filler, binder, colouring, sweetener or preservative, that helps the product work and keep.
  • generic drugA medicine with the same active ingredient, strength, dosage form and effect as an original branded medicine, usually sold after the original's patent has expired.
  • brand nameThe name a company gives to its product, written with a capital letter, as opposed to the generic name of the active ingredient that everyone uses.
  • drugA chemical substance that changes how the body works and is used to prevent, diagnose or treat a disease; in everyday speech it can also mean an illegal substance.

More terms: Dosage Forms

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.