Cetylpyridinium chloride 0.025% gel
Cetylpyridinium is a quaternary ammonium with broad-spectrum antiseptic properties.
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2 branded products available
Part of the Merocets brand family (generic: Cetylpyridinium)
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Therapeutically similar medicines
Similarity is based on WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and on a factual NHS dm+d therapeutic-grouping code prefix. Source data: NHS dm+d via TRUD (OGL v3.0), WHO ATC/DDD Index.
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SNOMED CT and dm+d codes from NHS TRUD (Technology Reference data Update Distribution), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. ATC codes from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology (whocc.no).
Active and completed clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Data accessed via ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Trial information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Academic studies and reviews for this medicine's active substance
Showing the 50 most relevant studies.
Reviews & meta-analyses: 15 · Randomised trials: 16 · 1988–2026
Showing the 50 most relevant studies, sorted by most relevant.
Windhorst ER, Joosstens M, van der Sluijs E, et al.
2025
- Dental Plaque
- Gingivitis
- Chlorhexidine
AimTo evaluate the effectiveness of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) and chlorhexidine (CHX) mouthwashes (MW) on plaque and gingivitis scores for patients with gingivitis, in brushing as well as non-brushing situations.MethodsA comprehensive search of MEDLINE-PubMed and Cochrane-CENTRAL was conducted to identify clinical and randomised controlled trials comparing CPC and CHX mouthwashes on plaque and gingivitis scores. The staining index was evaluated as a secondary outcome. In addition, the risk of bias was assessed. The data was summarised using a descriptive approach, and whenever possible, a meta-analysis was conducted. The results for brushing and non-brushing studies were presented separately. Grading was applied using the GRADE approach to rate the certainty of evidence.ResultsThe search resulted in 424 unique papers, from which 14 full-text papers providing 18 comparisons were selected. Different concentrations of CPC-MW (0.1%, 0.075%, 0.05%) and CHX-MW (0.2%, 0.12%) were used. The risk of bias was estimated to be low, moderate or high for each study. A meta-analysis for non-brushing models showed a significant favour for CHX-MW in plaque index scores (0.55 [95% CI: 0.19; 0.91], p = 0.003). For brushing, no significant differences were found between CPC-MW and CHX-MW. The descriptive analysis supports these findings. CHX-MW tends to stain more than CPC-MW.ConclusionThere is moderate certainty for a small statistically significant favourable effect of CHX-MW over CPC-MW for plaque control in non-brushing situations, but no difference between them for plaque and gingivitis prevention in brushing situations.
Abstract licence: CC BY
Mohapatra S, Mohandas R
2025
- Dental Plaque
- Gingivitis
- Cetylpyridinium
Koromantzos PA, Bobetsis YA, Giota C, et al.
2026
- Dental Plaque
- Gingivitis
- Mouthwashes
Background and aimEffective oral hygiene using different mechanical means is mainly dependent on the patient. Mouthwashes containing antimicrobial agents have been developed to be used as an adjunct to mechanical supragingival plaque control. The aim of this umbrella review is to evaluate and compare the long-term efficacy of commonly used, commercially available daily mouthwashes in plaque control and gingival inflammation.MethodsThe current umbrella review was conducted in accordance with the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions using the PICOS format. The search was conducted in four databases: PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane and Web of Science. Nine systematic reviews/meta-analyses (SRs/MAs) on the long-term efficacy of commercially available mouthwashes (low-concentration chlorhexidine [CHX], cetylpyridinium chloride [CPC], mouthwashes with essential oils [EOs], fluoride and oxygen-releasing mouthwashes) were included.ResultsThe results revealed that in all SRs/MAs, the prolonged daily use of mouthwashes helped in reducing plaque and gingival inflammation indices but not always with statistical significance.ConclusionsResults of the present study indicate that the long-term use of mouthwashes containing EOs seems to give the best results in both reducing plaque levels and improving gingivitis indices among all tested formulations.Trial registrationPROSPERO Registration Number CRD 42024618552.
Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND
BULLETIN OF STOMATOLOGY AND MAXILLOFACIAL SURGERY, 2025
Xiaojun Mao, D. Auer, W. Buchalla, et al.
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 2020
G. Langa, F. Muniz, Ricardo Costa, et al.
Clinical Oral Investigations, 2020
Haps, D. Slot, CE Berchier, et al.
International journal of dental hygiene, 2008
F. Teng, T. He, S. Huang, et al.
International Journal of Oral Science, 2016
A. Pulcini, Juan Bollaín, I. Sanz-Sánchez, et al.
Journal of Clinical Periodontology, 2019
Onozuka D, Konishi K, Takatera S, et al.
2024
- Chlorine Compounds
- Cetylpyridinium
- Mouthwashes
ObjectivesThe established effect of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) mouthwash on SARS-CoV-2 viral titers is unclear. No clinical trial has examined the impact of on-demand aqueous chlorine dioxide mouthwash on SARS-CoV-2 viral titer.MethodsIn this multicenter, 3-armed, randomized, open-label, placebo-controlled clinical trial involving mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients, we randomly assigned them to receive 20 mL of 0.05% CPC, 10 mL of 0.01% on-demand aqueous chlorine dioxide, or 20 mL of purified water as a placebo mouthwash in a 1:1:1 ratio. The primary measurement was the SARS-CoV-2 viral titer in saliva, evaluated by a mixed-effects linear regression model.Results49 patients received CPC mouthwash (n=16), on-demand aqueous chlorine dioxide mouthwash (n=16), and placebo (n=17) between January 14, 2024, and February 20, 2024. 0.05% CPC mouthwash significantly reduced salivary viral titer at 10 minutes postuse (-0.97 log10 PFU/mL; 95% CI, -1.64 to -0.30; P = .004), while no such effect was observed at 30 minutes (difference vs placebo, -0.26 log10 PFU/mL; 95% CI, -0.92 to 0.40; P = .435) or 60 minutes (difference vs. placebo, -0.05 log10 PFU/mL; 95% CI, -0.68 to 0.58; P = .877). 0.01% on-demand chlorine dioxide mouthwash did not reduce salivary viral titer at 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or 60 minutes compared to placebo.Conclusions10 minutes after using a 0.05% CPC mouthwash, the salivary viral titer of SARS-CoV-2 decreased compared to placebo. 0.01% on-demand aqueous chlorine dioxide mouthwash and placebo had no significant difference in SARS-CoV-2 viral titers.Trial registrationJapan Registry of Clinical Trials (jRCT): jRCTs031230566.
Abstract licence: CC BY
Sources: aggregated from Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI), OpenAlex, Crossref, PubMed and other open scholarly databases. Retracted articles are excluded. Study information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Pharmacology and chemical data from DrugBank
Key facts
Drug status
Approved
Major interactions
None known
Half-life
Not available
Mechanism
When incorporated into mouthwashes, toothpastes, lozenges, or mouth sprays, cety…
Food interactions
None known
Human targets
None mapped
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
1 min
Half-life
Protein binding
Volume of distribution
Metabolism
Elimination
[L2757]
…
Clearance
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
[A24813][L2754][L2755]
[L2761]
However, such overdose symptoms are only observed in doses 70 times greater than the concentrations of cetylpyridinium chloride found in most over-the-counter cetylpyridinium chloride products .
[L2761]
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[L2758]
Additionally, it has been recorded that quaternary ammonium compounds like Cetylpyridinium chloride are generally poorly absorbed by the oral route .
[L2757]
Furthermore, although systemic absorption from the parenteral route of administration is possible, systemic effects from percutaneous absorption through intact skin is considered rare .
[L2757]
[L2760]
[L2760]
[L2760]
[L2760]
[L2757]
[L2760]
ATC D08AJ03
ATC A01AB53
ATC B05CA01
ATC R02AA06
ATC D09AA07
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
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Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Linked compound data from DrugBank Open Data (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Cetylpyridinium
DrugBank citations
If you use DrugBank data in your research, please cite:
- DrugBank 6.02024Recommended citationKnox C., Wilson M., Klinger C.M., et alDrugBank 6.0: the DrugBank Knowledgebase for 2024Nucleic Acids Res. 2024 Jan 552(D1):D1265-D1275
- DrugBank 5.02018Wishart D.S., Feunang Y.D., Guo A.C., et alDrugBank 5.0: a major update to the DrugBank database for 2018Nucleic Acids Res. 2017 Nov 846(D1):D1074-D1082
- DrugBank 4.02014Law V., Knox C., Djoumbou Y., et alDrugBank 4.0: shedding new light on drug metabolismNucleic Acids Res. 2014 Jan 142(1):D1091-7
- DrugBank 3.02011Knox C., Law V., Jewison T., et alDrugBank 3.0: a comprehensive resource for 'omics' research on drugsNucleic Acids Res. 2011 Jan39(Database issue):D1035-41
- DrugBank 2.02008Wishart D.S., Knox C., Guo A.C., et alDrugBank: a knowledgebase for drugs, drug actions and drug targets.Nucleic Acids Research2008 Jan36(Database issue):D901-6
- DrugBank 1.02006Wishart D.S., Knox C., Guo A.C., et alDrugBank: a comprehensive resource for in silico drug discovery and exploration.Nucleic Acids Research2006 Jan 134(Database issue):D668-72