Medicines are available in many forms for human consumption. Some are tablets, capsules, syrups, suspensions, emulsions, injections, lozenges, etc. These are taken based on the compatibility of patients.
Key Takeaways
- The syrup is a type of liquid medication containing a high sugar concentration, while suspension contains solid particles suspended in the liquid.
- The syrup is easier to swallow and may taste pleasant, while the suspension may be unpleasant and require shaking before use.
- Syrup may be more effective for treating coughs and sore throats, while the suspension may be more effective for treating bacterial infections.
Syrup vs. Suspension
Syrup is a solution consisting of sugar readily dissolvable in other solvents, while suspension is a biphasic liquid system containing insoluble solute particles in the fluid medium. The drug is entirely soluble in syrup, while the rest consists of solid particles in the liquid phase.
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Syrup is a liquid dosage form consisting of sugar and active pharmaceutical ingredient that is utterly soluble. Syrups are a transparent monophasic liquid system with a homogeneously mixed active ingredient.
The particles are in motion so they can settle down in a bottle and be re-dispersed when shaken. The distribution of the drug or the active pharmaceutical ingredient should be uniform when the suspension is shaken.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Syrup | Suspension |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Monophasic liquid dosage form consists of sugar and active pharmaceutical ingredient completely soluble in it. | The biphasic liquid dosage form consists of particles not completely soluble in the liquid media. |
| Solvent system | Syrups can be aqueous-based or alcoholic syrups (called elixirs). | Suspensions are usually water-based systems. |
| Ideal for | Young children and the elderly are more compatible with syrup due to its sweet taste. | Ideal for diabetic patients who cannot administer syrup due to the presence of sugar. |
| Phases | A monophasic dosage form as the drug is completely dissolved. | A biphasic dosage form as the solid particles are not completely dissolved. |
| Types (based on usage) | Simple syrup, medicinal syrup, elixirs, flavored syrup | Oral suspension, parenteral suspension, topically applied break (creams, lotions). |
What is Syrup?
Syrup is a solution containing sugar and an active dissolved pharmaceutical ingredient. This solute is completely dissolved in the solvent, and the resulting mixture is called a homogeneous solution.
The solute particles are evenly distributed throughout the solvent system. This is one of the significant advantages of this formulation.
Syrups can be aqueous-based systems or alcohol-based systems. The alcohol-based syrups are known as elixirs.
Syrups can be of different types. The simple syrup is a sucrose solution having a concentration of 66.66% sucrose in water (e.g., Syrup USP).
What is Suspension?
Suspension is a colloidal system having solid particles undissolved in the liquid phase. The particle size of the solid particles in suspension is in the range of 1 μm.
This is why suspensions need to be shaken before administration so that the particles get evenly distributed. All the breaks have instructions on their label: Shake well before use.
The external phase is also known as the suspending medium. There are two types of suspension: flocculated and deflocculated.
Main Differences Between Syrup and Suspension
- Syrup is a sugar solution with uniformly distributed active pharmaceutical ingredients or drugs. At the same time, the suspension is a heterogenous mixture where the drugs are not completely dissolved in the liquid media.
- The solvent system can be aqueous or alcoholic, while suspensions are usually aqueous-based.
- https://adc.bmj.com/content/98/9/725.short
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/309326
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
