Hydroquinone 20% cream
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
Hydroquinone is a topical lightening product found in OTC products, and is used to correct skin discoloration associated with disorders of hyperpigmentation including melasma, post-inflammatory hyperpigmention, sunspots, and freckles.
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
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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 Hydroquinone
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Interactive Drug Analysis Profiles for all medicines
Report a side effect
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 Hydroquinone
About EudraVigilance
Learn about EU pharmacovigilance and safety monitoring
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
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.
NHS prescribing volume and spending trends
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
Browse tools
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. 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: 5 · Randomised trials: 6 · 1967–2025
Showing the 50 most relevant studies, sorted by most relevant.
Liliana Elizabeth Espinal‐Perez, Benjamín Moncada, Juan Pablo Castanedo-Cázares
International Journal of Dermatology, 2004
- Administration, Topical
- Ascorbic Acid
- Dermatologic Agents
Josefina Navarrete-Solís, Juan Pablo Castanedo-Cázares, Bertha Torres‐Álvarez, et al.
Dermatology Research and Practice, 2011
S. Ishack, S. Lipner
International Journal of Dermatology, 2021
Alessandra Haddad, Luiz Fernando Santos Matos, Flávia Brunstein, et al.
International Journal of Dermatology, 2003
- Drug Eruptions
- Dermatologic Agents
- Hydroquinones
Zoé Kececioglu Draelos
Dermatologic Therapy, 2007
- Administration, Topical
- Dermatologic Agents
- Esthetics
Francisco J. Enguita, Ana Lúcia Leitão
BioMed Research International, 2013
Roy Chan, K.‐C. Park, M.H. Lee, et al.
British Journal of Dermatology, 2008
Tuo Li, Zhenwen Zhao, Quan Wang, et al.
Water Research, 2016
- Cysteine
- Amino Acids
- Hydrogen Peroxide
Haiping Huang, Yanan Chen, Zhongzhen Chen, et al.
Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2021
- Nanotubes, Carbon
- Nanocomposites
- Catechols
Yuan Chen, Xiaoying Liu, Si Zhang, et al.
Electrochimica Acta, 2017
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
Hydroquinone reduces melanin pigment production through inhibition of the tyrosi…
Food interactions
None known
Human targets
4 targets
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Hydroquinone has come under scrutiny due to several complications associated with its use, including dermal irritation, exogenous onchronosis, and carginogenicity. As a result of these concerns, hydroquinone has been banned in the EU and UK.
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
Integrin alpha-IIb/beta-3 recognizes the sequence H-H-L-G-G-G-A-K-Q-A-G-D-V in fibrinogen gamma chain (By similarity). Following activation integrin alpha-IIb/beta-3 brings about platelet/platelet interaction through binding of soluble fibrinogen .
PMID:9111081
This step leads to rapid platelet aggregation which physically plugs ruptured endothelial surface. Fibrinogen binding enhances SELP expression in activated platelets (By similarity).
ITGAV:ITGB3 binds to fractalkine (CX3CL1) and acts as its coreceptor in CX3CR1-dependent fractalkine signaling .
PMID:23125415 PMID:24789099
ITGAV:ITGB3 binds to NRG1 (via EGF domain) and this binding is essential for NRG1-ERBB signaling .
PMID:20682778
ITGAV:ITGB3 binds to FGF1 and this binding is essential for FGF1 signaling .
PMID:18441324
ITGAV:ITGB3 binds to FGF2 and this binding is essential for FGF2 signaling .
PMID:28302677
ITGAV:ITGB3 binds to IGF1 and this binding is essential for IGF1 signaling .
PMID:19578119
ITGAV:ITGB3 binds to IGF2 and this binding is essential for IGF2 signaling .
PMID:28873464
ITGAV:ITGB3 binds to IL1B and this binding is essential for IL1B signaling .
PMID:29030430
ITGAV:ITGB3 binds to PLA2G2A via a site (site 2) which is distinct from the classical ligand-binding site (site 1) and this induces integrin conformational changes and enhanced ligand binding to site 1 .
PMID:18635536 PMID:25398877
ITGAV:ITGB3 acts as a receptor for fibrillin-1 (FBN1) and mediates R-G-D-dependent cell adhesion to FBN1 .
PMID:12807887
In brain, plays a role in synaptic transmission and plasticity. Involved in the regulation of the serotonin neurotransmission, is required to localize to specific compartments within the synapse the serotonin receptor SLC6A4 and for an appropriate reuptake of serotonin. Controls excitatory synaptic strength by regulating GRIA2-containing AMPAR endocytosis, which affects AMPAR abundance and composition (By similarity).
ITGAV:ITGB3 act as a receptor for CD40LG .
PMID:31331973
ITGAV:ITGB3 acts as a receptor for IBSP and promotes cell adhesion and migration to IBSP PMID:10640428
Following activation integrin alpha-IIb/beta-3 brings about platelet/platelet interaction through binding of soluble fibrinogen .
PMID:9111081
This step leads to rapid platelet aggregation which physically plugs ruptured endothelial cell surface (By similarity)
The rank order of affinities for the leukotrienes is LTD4 >> LTE4 = LTC4 >> LTB4
Enzymes involved in drug metabolism — important for understanding drug interactions
Proteins that carry this drug through the body
PMID:19021548
Major calcium and magnesium transporter in plasma, binds approximately 45% of circulating calcium and magnesium in plasma (By similarity).
Potentially has more than two calcium-binding sites and might additionally bind calcium in a non-specific manner (By similarity). The shared binding site between zinc and calcium at residue Asp-273 suggests a crosstalk between zinc and calcium transport in the blood (By similarity). The rank order of affinity is zinc > calcium > magnesium (By similarity).
Binds to the bacterial siderophore enterobactin and inhibits enterobactin-mediated iron uptake of E.coli from ferric transferrin, and may thereby limit the utilization of iron and growth of enteric bacteria such as E.coli .
PMID:6234017
Does not prevent iron uptake by the bacterial siderophore aerobactin PMID:6234017
ATC D11AX11
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)
Hydroquinone
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
4439
ChemSpider
764
BindingDB
26190
PDB
HQE
ZINC
ZINC000005133378
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:12442
GenAtlas
TYR
GeneCards
TYR
GenBank Gene Database
M27160
GenBank Protein Database
340037
Guide to Pharmacology
2643
UniProt Accession
TYRO_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:6156
GenAtlas
ITGB3
GeneCards
ITGB3
GenBank Gene Database
J02703
GenBank Protein Database
306786
Guide to Pharmacology
2457
UniProt Accession
ITB3_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:6138
GenAtlas
ITGA2B
GeneCards
ITGA2B
GenBank Gene Database
J02764
GenBank Protein Database
190068
Guide to Pharmacology
2441
UniProt Accession
ITA2B_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:17451
GenAtlas
CYSLTR1
GeneCards
CYSLTR1
GenBank Gene Database
AF119711
GenBank Protein Database
5353887
Guide to Pharmacology
269
UniProt Accession
CLTR1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4065
GenAtlas
GAA
GeneCards
GAA
GenBank Gene Database
Y00839
GenBank Protein Database
31608
Guide to Pharmacology
2611
UniProt Accession
LYAG_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:399
GenAtlas
ALB
GeneCards
ALB
GenBank Gene Database
V00494
GenBank Protein Database
28590
UniProt Accession
ALBU_HUMAN
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
ATC classifications (Wikidata)
Linked open data from Wikidata (Q419164), 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.