Liquid dosage forms

Liquid dosage forms
Liquid dosage forms, given orally,
deliver medication to the body the
fastest because they move so quickly
through the system. They are also
the most common form of children’s
medications. The three liquid dosage
forms are syrups, elixirs, and drops.

1-Syrups
· Syrups are concentrated, aqueous preparations
of a sugar or sugar-substitute with or without
added flavoring agents and medicinal
substances.
· Syrups containing flavoring agents but not
medicinal substances are called flavored vehicles
(syrups).e..g Cherry Syrup, Cocoa Syrup, Orange
syrup, Raspberry Syrup.
· Syrups containing medicinal agents are called
medicated syrups. e.g. Chlorpheniramine
maleate syrup, Ipecac syrup, Chloral hydrate
syrup etc

The advantages of syrups
Taste masking by syrup
The syrup imparts a characteristics “body” (viscosity) and
together with the sweetness and the flavorants results in a
type of pharmaceutical preparation that is quite effective in
making the taste of added medicinal agents. When the
syrup is swallowed, only a portion of dissolved drug actually
makes contact with the taste buds, the remainder of the
drug being carried past them and down the throat in the
containment of the viscous syrup.
In the case of antitussive syrups (e.g. linctus) the thick
sweet syrup has a soothing effect on the irritated tissues of
the throat as it passes over them.
Preservative action of syrup
Simple syrup NF contains 85% w/v sucrose. At this
concentration the syrup is resistant to microbial
growth, due to unavailability of the water required for the
growth of micro-organisms.

Disadvantages of syrups
1-crytallization …..A saturated
solution may lead to crytallization
apart of sucrose under conditions of
changing temperature.
2-has risk on dental caries and
diabetic patients.

2-Elixirs
An elixir is a hydro-alcoholic solution of at least one active ingredient.
Elixirs consist of alcohol and water and are sweet in taste and have a
nice flavor. The alcohol is mainly used to:
Solubilize the active ingredient(s) and some excipients
Retard the crystallization of sugar
Preserve the finished product
Provide a sharpness to the taste
Aid in masking the unpleasant taste of the active ingredient(s)
Enhance the flavor.
The lowest alcoholic quantity that will dissolve completely the active
ingredient(s) and give a clear solution is generally chosen. High
concentrations of alcohol give burning taste to the final product.
Elixirs have low viscosity than syrups and they can flow more freely as
there will be very less use of agents that increase viscosity like sucrose.
To call a formulation as elixir, it must be hydroalcoholic and the amount
of alcohol may vary greatly.

Advantages and Disadvantages
of Elixir
Advantages of Elixir
Easy to swallow than tablets or capsule.
It tastes good.
Clear solution, no need to be shuffled again.
Disadvantages of Elixir
Alcohol is not good for children.
Because they contain volatile materials, it
must be stored in a watertight screw-top jar
and away from sources of ignition.

3-suspension
Definition
A suspension is a two phased system in
which a finely divided solid is dispersed
in a continuous phase of solid, liquid,
or gas. The undissolved solid exists in
equilibrium with a saturated solution
of the solid in the continuous phase.
A pharmaceutical suspension is a
coarse dispersion in which insoluble
solid particles are dispersed in a liquid
medium.

The advantages of suspension
over other dosage forms. Some drugs are
insoluble in all acceptable media and
must, therefore, be administered as a
tablet, capsule, or as a suspension. Because of
their liquid character, suspensions represent
an ideal dosage form for patients who have
difficulty swallowing tablets or capsules. This
factor is of particular importance in
administration of drugs to children.
Suspensions of insoluble drugs may also be
used externally, often as protective agents.

The disadvantages of
suspension
Suspensions also possess some disadvantages
relative to other dosage forms. The primary
disadvantage is their physical instability; i.e.,
that they tend to settle over time leading to a
lack of uniformity of dose. This can, however,
be minimized by careful formulation and by
shaking the suspension before each dose is
delivered. An additional disadvantage is that
the texture of suspensions may be
unpleasant to patients and should be
carefully considered during formulation.

Liquid dosage forms

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Featured

Featured (20)

Liquid dosage forms