What Does Active Ingredient Mean?

The active ingredient in any medication is the part of the preparation that will have a direct effect on your symptoms. Every medication will contain one or more active ingredients.

Recognition

• The active ingredient in your medicine will always be listed first on the label, no matter what the concentration of the other ingredients. The purpose of the ingredient will also be stated.

Multiple Active Ingredients

• If your medicine includes more than one active ingredient, they will all be listed at the start of the ingredients list in descending order of the amount contained. The purpose of each individual ingredient will also be listed.

Herbal Medicines

• It is not always possible to isolate and identify the active ingredients of an herbal medicine. Where possible, active ingredients will be listed separately, in descending order of amount. However, if the active elements cannot be accurately measured, the World Health Organization recommends treating the medicine as a whole as one active ingredient.