Glycerol 15% eye drops
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
A trihydroxy sugar alcohol that is an intermediate in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism.
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
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Official medicine documents
Safety monitoring data
Yellow Card reports
The MHRA Yellow Card scheme collects reports of suspected side effects from healthcare professionals and patients. View the Drug Analysis Profile (iDAP) for real-world adverse reaction data.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Glycerol
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Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
Data from the MHRA Yellow Card scheme. A reported reaction does not necessarily mean the medicine caused it. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
EudraVigilance
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) collects suspected adverse reaction reports from across the EU/EEA through the EudraVigilance system. Search for safety data on this medicine.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Glycerol
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EudraVigilance data is published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A suspected adverse reaction is not necessarily caused by the medicine.
1 branded products available
Part of the Tixylix brand family (generic: Glycerol)
MHRA licensed products
View all licensed products for Glycerol on the MHRA register
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
NICE clinical guidance(4)
Stereotactic radiosurgery for trigeminal neuralgia (HTG608)
Meningitis (bacterial) and meningococcal disease: recognition, diagnosis and management (NG240)
Endo-SPONGE for treating low rectal anastomotic leak (HTG605)
Jaundice in newborn babies under 28 days (CG98)
Source: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Check stock at pharmacies and supply information
Pharmacy stock checkers
Search for this medicine at major UK pharmacy chains. These links open the retailer's own website — results depend on their current online catalogue.
Supply & safety information
Official UK regulator monitoring and safety alerts
Pharmacy links redirect to the retailer's own search and do not represent real-time stock levels. Shortage and safety information sourced from MHRA drug safety updates (gov.uk, Crown Copyright under OGL v3.0).
Codes for healthcare professionals and prescribing systems
These codes are used by healthcare IT systems and prescribers to identify this medicine.
NHS UK identifiers
SNOMED CT and dm+d codes from NHS TRUD (Technology Reference data Update Distribution), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. BNF code shown is the factual mapping value distributed by NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) in the dm+d supplementary file under OGL v3.0; it is not affiliated with, nor licensed from, the publishers of the British National Formulary.
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: 39 · 2007–2026
Showing the 50 most relevant studies, sorted by most relevant.
Georgios Dodekatos, Stefan Schünemann, Harun Tüysüz
ACS Catalysis, 2018
M. Anitha, Siti Kartom Kamarudin, Noorhisham Tan Kofli
Chemical Engineering Journal, 2016
Daolai Sun, Yasuhiro Yamada, Satoshi Sato, et al.
Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2016
Xiaolan Luo, Xumeng Ge, Shaoqing Cui, et al.
Bioresource Technology, 2016
- Methanol
- Conservation of Energy Resources
- Fatty Acids
Carine Aline Schwengber, Helton José Alves, Rodolfo Andrade Schaffner, et al.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2016
Malaya R. Nanda, Yongsheng Zhang, Zhongshun Yuan, et al.
Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2016
P. Okoye, B. Hameed
Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2016
Mathias Klein, Steve Swinnen, J. Thevelein, et al.
Environmental microbiology, 2017
P. Kong, M. Aroua, W. Daud
Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2016
L. Kumar, S. K. Yellapu, R. Tyagi, et al.
Bioresource technology, 2019
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
30 - 45 minutes
Mechanism
When administered rectally, glycerin exerts a hygroscopic and/or local irritant…
Food interactions
None known
Human targets
11 targets
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
Half-life
30 - 45 minutes
Volume of distribution
Metabolism
Elimination
7-14%
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 430 interactions
Rat LD50 (oral)-12600mg/kg
Mice LD50 (oral )-4090mg/kg
Human TDLo (oral) - 1428mg/kg
Glycerin decreases intraocular pressure by creating an osmotic gradient between the blood and intraocular fluid, causing fluid to move out of the aqueous and vitreous humors into the bloodstream.
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
In some organisms, the glycerin component can enter the glycolysis pathway directly to provide a substrate for energy or glucose production. Glycerol must be converted to their intermediate glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate before being used in glycolysis or gluconeogenesis. Glycerol metabolism is regulated by the enzymes glycerol kinase, (cytosolic) NAD+-dependent G3P dehydrogenase and (mitochondrial) FAD-linked G3P dehydrogenase.
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
PMID:35675826
Receptor that binds peroxisome proliferators such as hypolipidemic drugs and fatty acids. Has a preference for poly-unsaturated fatty acids, such as gamma-linoleic acid and eicosapentanoic acid. Once activated by a ligand, the receptor binds to promoter elements of target genes.
Regulates the peroxisomal beta-oxidation pathway of fatty acids. Functions as transcription activator for the acyl-CoA oxidase gene. Decreases expression of NPC1L1 once activated by a ligand
PMID:10681567 PMID:11922621 PMID:28883454
Hydrolyzes the ester bond of the fatty acyl group attached at sn-2 position of phospholipids (phospholipase A2 activity), releasing various unsaturated fatty acids including oleoate, linoleoate, arachidonate, docosahexaenoate and lysophosphatidylethanolamines in preference to lysophosphatidylcholines .
PMID:10681567 PMID:28883454
In response to high-fat diet, hydrolyzes minor lipoprotein phospholipids including phosphatidylserines, phosphatidylinositols and phosphatidylglycerols, altering lipoprotein composition and fat storage in adipose tissue and liver (By similarity). May act in an autocrine and paracrine manner .
PMID:11922621
Contributes to lipid remodeling of cellular membranes and generation of lipid mediators involved in pathogen clearance. Cleaves sn-2 fatty acyl chains of phosphatidylglycerols and phosphatidylethanolamines, which are major components of membrane phospholipids in bacteria .
PMID:11922621
Acts as a hair follicle phospholipase A2.
Selectively releases lysophosphatidylethanolamines (LPE) and various unsaturated fatty acids in skin to regulate hair follicle homeostasis (By similarity). May regulate the inflammatory response by releasing arachidonate, a precursor of prostaglandins and leukotrienes .
PMID:11922621
Upon allergen exposure, may participate in allergic inflammatory response by enhancing leukotriene C4 synthesis and degranulation in mast cells (By similarity)
PMID:15024000 PMID:23902760
Rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of all inositol-containing compounds PMID:15024000
PMID:15369820 PMID:16787387
In vitro can also catalyze the NADH-dependent reduction of all-trans-retinal and its derivatives such as all-trans-4-oxoretinal .
PMID:15369820 PMID:16787387
Catalyzes in the oxidative direction with higher efficiency .
PMID:16787387
Has the same affinity for all-trans-4-hydroxyretinol and all-trans-4-oxoretinal PMID:15369820
PMID:10620513 PMID:27108797
Undergoes conformational changes upon ligand binding, suggesting structural flexibility that allows the channel to switch from a closed state, capable of interacting with its ligands such as 1,4,5-trisphosphate and calcium, to an open state, capable of transferring calcium ions across the ER membrane (By similarity). Cytoplasmic calcium released from the ER triggers apoptosis by the activation of CAMK2 complex (By similarity). Involved in the regulation of epithelial secretion of electrolytes and fluid through the interaction with AHCYL1 (By similarity).
Part of a complex composed of HSPA9, ITPR1 and VDAC1 that regulates mitochondrial calcium-dependent apoptosis by facilitating calcium transport from the ER lumen to the mitochondria intermembrane space thus providing calcium for the downstream calcium channel MCU that directly releases it into mitochondria matrix (By similarity). Regulates fertilization and egg activation by tuning the frequency and amplitude of calcium oscillations (By similarity)
Enzymes involved in drug metabolism — important for understanding drug interactions
Proteins that transport this drug across cell membranes
PMID:11952783 PMID:30420639 PMID:30423801 PMID:36737436 PMID:9405233
Could also be permeable to urea .
PMID:9405233
Mediates the efflux of glycerol, formed upon triglyceride hydrolysis, to avoid its accumulation in adipocytes and to make it available to other tissues. In the kidney, mediates the reabsorption of glycerol, preventing its loss in urine, again participating to energy homeostasis. In pancreatic beta cells, it also mediates the efflux of glycerol, regulating its intracellular levels (By similarity)
PMID:10564231 PMID:30420639 PMID:35054513 PMID:9514918
AQP9 is the primary route for glycerol uptake in hepatocytes, supporting hepatic gluconeogenesis (By similarity). It exhibits broad specificity and may transport various small, non-charged solutes, including carbamides, polyols, purines, and pyrimidines .
PMID:10564231
AQP9 may also facilitate hepatic urea extrusion .
PMID:10564231 PMID:9514918
Due to its permeability to lactate, AQP9 might participate in the astrocyte-to-neuron lactate shuttle, supplying neurons with energy .
PMID:10564231 PMID:35054513
Additionally, AQP9 is permeable to arsenite, contributing to arsenic excretion by the liver and providing partial protection against arsenic toxicity .
PMID:10564231
It is also permeable to H2O2 in vivo .
PMID:26837049
Could also be permeable to ammonium (By similarity)
ATC A06AX01
ATC A06AG04
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)
Glycerin
Matched from: Glycerol
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
7104
ChemSpider
733
PDB
GOL
ZINC
ZINC000000895048
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:9235
GenAtlas
PPARD
GeneCards
PPARD
GenBank Gene Database
L07592
GenBank Protein Database
190230
Guide to Pharmacology
594
UniProt Accession
PPARD_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:13414
GeneCards
PLA2G2E
GenBank Gene Database
AF189279
GenBank Protein Database
7108923
Guide to Pharmacology
1419
UniProt Accession
PA2GE_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:29821
GeneCards
ISYNA1
UniProt Accession
INO1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:250
GenAtlas
ADH1B
GeneCards
ADH1B
GenBank Gene Database
M24317
GenBank Protein Database
178098
UniProt Accession
ADH1B_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:6180
GeneCards
ITPR1
UniProt Accession
ITPR1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:8573
GeneCards
PAEP
GenBank Gene Database
J04129
GenBank Protein Database
190215
UniProt Accession
PAEP_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:7631
GeneCards
NAGA
UniProt Accession
NAGAB_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:652
GeneCards
ARF1
GenBank Gene Database
M36340
GenBank Protein Database
178983
UniProt Accession
ARF1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:8603
GenAtlas
PAPSS1
GeneCards
PAPSS1
GenBank Gene Database
Y10387
UniProt Accession
PAPS1_HUMAN
GenBank Gene Database
Z11831
GenBank Protein Database
42067
UniProt Accession
MUTL_ECOLI
GenBank Gene Database
K02672
UniProt Accession
RIR2_ECOLI
GenBank Gene Database
X52391
UniProt Accession
MUTY_ECOLI
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2977
GenAtlas
TRDMT1
GeneCards
TRDMT1
GenBank Gene Database
AF012128
UniProt Accession
TRDMT_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4643
GenAtlas
GSTZ1
GeneCards
GSTZ1
GenBank Gene Database
AJ001838
GenBank Protein Database
2832731
UniProt Accession
MAAI_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:402
GenAtlas
ALDH1A1
GeneCards
ALDH1A1
GenBank Gene Database
M31994
GenBank Protein Database
178372
UniProt Accession
AL1A1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2631
GeneCards
CYP2E1
GenBank Gene Database
J02625
GenBank Protein Database
181360
Guide to Pharmacology
1330
UniProt Accession
CP2E1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:640
GeneCards
AQP7
UniProt Accession
AQP7_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:643
GeneCards
AQP9
UniProt Accession
AQP9_HUMAN
GenBank Gene Database
X15054
UniProt Accession
GLPF_ECOLI
DrugBank citations
If you use DrugBank data in your research, please cite the following publications:
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Structured knowledge from the free knowledge base
Molecular structure

Linked open data from Wikidata (Q132501), a free and open knowledge base operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Data is available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication. Molecular structure images from Wikimedia Commons. WHO INN from the World Health Organization.