Oxytocin 5units/1ml solution for injection ampoules
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
Peptide hormone and neuropeptide
Safety information for pregnancy and breastfeeding
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
Report a side effect
Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
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 Oxytocin
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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 Oxytocin
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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.
4 branded products available
MHRA licensed products
View all licensed products for Oxytocin on the MHRA register
Syntocinon 5units/1ml solution for injection ampoules
Oxytocin 5units/1ml solution for injection ampoules
Oxytocin 5units/1ml solution for injection ampoules
WHO defined daily dose (DDD)
15 unit
Not a recommended dose. The DDD is the assumed average maintenance dose per day for a drug used for its main indication in adults. It is a statistical measure used for research and comparison purposes only.
Source: WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology, distributed via the NHS dm+d supplementary BNF/ATC mapping files (NHSBSA). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
NICE clinical guidance(10)
Intrapartum care (NG235)
Intrapartum care (QS105)
Inducing labour (NG207)
Insertion of a double balloon catheter for induction of labour in pregnant women without previous caesarean section (HTG380)
Fetal monitoring in labour (NG229)
Intrapartum care for women with existing medical conditions or obstetric complications and their babies (NG121)
Preterm labour and birth (QS135)
Preterm labour and birth (NG25)
Twin and triplet pregnancy (NG137)
Autism spectrum disorder in adults: diagnosis and management (CG142)
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
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: 43 · Randomised trials: 6 · 2001–2026
Showing the 50 most relevant studies, sorted by most relevant.
Kerstin Uvnäs‐Moberg, Anette Ekström, Marie Berg, et al.
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 2019
- Labor, Obstetric
- Oxytocics
- Oxytocin
Kerstin Uvnäs Moberg, Anette Ekström-Bergström, Sarah Buckley, et al.
PLoS ONE, 2020
Mathias Valstad, G. Alvares, Maiken Egknud, et al.
bioRxiv, 2016
Naomi Scatliffe, Sharon G. Casavant, D. Vittner, et al.
International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 2019
Y. Ooi, S. Weng, Joe Kossowsky, et al.
Pharmacopsychiatry, 2016
M. Torloni, C. Gomes Freitas, UH Kartoglu, et al.
BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 2016
S. Engel, H. Klusmann, B. Ditzen, et al.
Frontiers in neuroendocrinology, 2019
Yi Huang, Xin Huang, R. Ebstein, et al.
Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 2021
Chathuri Yatawara, S. Einfeld, I. Hickie, et al.
Molecular Psychiatry, 2015
A. Guastella, K. Gray, N. Rinehart, et al.
Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 2015
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
1 found
Half-life
1-6 minutes
Mechanism
Oxytocin plays a vital role in labour and delivery.
Food interactions
None known
Human targets
4 targets
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
40 minutes
Half-life
1-6 minutes
[L31433]
Metabolism
[L31433]…
Elimination
[L31433][L31788]…
Clearance
7.87 mL/min
[A229053]
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
It should be noted that there are risks associated with oxytocin intervention during childbirth. Oxytocin should be used judiciously only when necessary and by experienced healthcare practitioners.[A229113]
Although most commonly linked to labor and delivery, oxytocin actually has broad peripheral and central effects.[A229008] It plays an important role in pair bonding, social cognition and functioning, and even fear conditioning.[A229013] Oxytocin also serves a role in metabolic homeostasis and cardiovascular regulation.[A228593][A229098]
[L31433]
For example, It may be used to induce labor in cases of Rh sensitization, maternal diabetes, preeclampsia at or near term, and when delivery is indicated due to prematurely ruptured membranes.
[A229018][L31433]
Importantly, oxytocin is not approved or indicated for elective induction of labor. Oxytocin may be used to reinforce labor in select cases of uterine inertia and as adjunctive therapy in the management of incomplete or inevitable abortion. In the postpartum period, oxytocin may be used to induced contractions in the 3rd stage of labor and to control postpartum bleeding or hemorrhage.
[L31433]
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 425 interactions
[A228958]
High doses can also lead to uterine spasms, hypertonicity, or rupture.
[A228958]
Oxytocin has antidiuretic properties, thus, high daily doses (as a single dose or administered slowly over 24 hours) may lead to extreme water intoxication resulting in maternal seizures, coma, and even death.
[A228958]
The risk of antidiuresis and water intoxication in the mother appears to be greater when fluids are given orally.
[A228958]
The concentration of oxytocin receptors on the myometrium increases significantly during pregnancy and reaches a peak in early labor.[L31433] Activation of oxytocin receptors on the myometrium triggers a downstream cascade that leads to increased intracellular calcium in uterine myofibrils which strengthens and increases the frequency of uterine contractions.[L31433][A228958][A228718]
In humans, most hormones are regulated by negative feedback; however, oxytocin is one of the few that is regulated by positive feedback.[A228958] The head of the fetus pushing on the cervix signals the release of oxytocin from the posterior pituitary of the mother.[A228958] Oxytocin then travels to the uterus where it stimulates uterine contractions.[A228958] The elicited uterine contractions will then stimulate the release of increasing amounts of oxytocin.[A228958] This positive feedback loop will continue until parturition.[A228958]
Since exogenously administered and endogenously secreted oxytocin result in the same effects on the female reproductive system, synthetic oxytocin may be used in specific instances during the antepartum and postpartum period to induce or improve uterine contractions.[A228958][L31433]
It is worth noting that oxytocin receptors are not limited to the reproductive system but can be found in many peripheral tissues and in central nervous system structures including the brain stem and amygdala.[A228998][A229003][A229008][A229013]
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[L31788]
[L31433]
[L31433]
The enzyme oxytocinase is largely responsible for the metabolism and regulation of oxytocin levels in pregnancy and only a small percentage of the neurohormone is excreted in the urine unchanged.
[L31433][L31788]
Oxytocinase activity increases throughout pregnancy and peaks in the plasma, placenta and uterus near term.
[L31788]
The placenta is a key source of oxytocinase during gestation and produces increasing amounts of the enzyme in response to increasing levels of oxytocin produced by the mother.
[A229058][A229063]
Oxytocinase activity is also expressed in mammary glands, heart, kidney, and the small intestine.
[A228593]
Lower levels of activity can be found in the brain, spleen, liver, skeletal muscle, testes, and colon.
[A228593]
The level of oxytocin degradation is negligible in non-pregnant women, men, and cord blood.
[L31788]
[L31433][L31788]
[A229053]
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
Enzymes involved in drug metabolism — important for understanding drug interactions
Proteins that transport this drug across cell membranes
PMID:27572515 PMID:28515150 PMID:34743181 PMID:35974093 PMID:24081950
Advanced glycosylation end products are nonenzymatically glycosylated proteins which accumulate in vascular tissue in aging and at an accelerated rate in diabetes .
PMID:21565706
These ligands accumulate at inflammatory sites during the pathogenesis of various diseases including diabetes, vascular complications, neurodegenerative disorders and cancers, and RAGE transduces their binding into pro-inflammatory responses. Upon ligand binding, uses TIRAP and MYD88 as adapters to transduce the signal ultimately leading to the induction of inflammatory cytokines IL6, IL8 and TNFalpha through activation of NF-kappa-B .
PMID:21829704 PMID:33436632
Interaction with S100A12 on endothelium, mononuclear phagocytes, and lymphocytes triggers cellular activation, with generation of key pro-inflammatory mediators .
PMID:19386136
Interaction with S100B after myocardial infarction may play a role in myocyte apoptosis by activating ERK1/2 and p53/TP53 signaling (By similarity). Contributes to the translocation of amyloid-beta peptide (ABPP) across the cell membrane from the extracellular to the intracellular space in cortical neurons .
PMID:19906677
ABPP-initiated RAGE signaling, especially stimulation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), has the capacity to drive a transport system delivering ABPP as a complex with RAGE to the intraneuronal space.
Participates in endothelial albumin transcytosis together with HMGB1 through the RAGE/SRC/Caveolin-1 pathway, leading to endothelial hyperpermeability .
PMID:27572515
Mediates the loading of HMGB1 in extracellular vesicles (EVs) that shuttle HMGB1 to hepatocytes by transferrin-mediated endocytosis and subsequently promote hepatocyte pyroptosis by activating the NLRP3 inflammasome .
PMID:34743181
Binds to DNA and promotes extracellular hypomethylated DNA (CpG DNA) uptake by cells via the endosomal route to activate inflammatory responses .
PMID:24081950 PMID:28515150
Mediates phagocytosis by non-professional phagocytes (NPP) and this is enhanced by binding to ligands including RNA, DNA, HMGB1 and histones .
PMID:35974093
Promotes NPP-mediated phagocytosis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae spores by binding to RNA attached to the spore wall .
PMID:35974093
Also promotes NPP-mediated phagocytosis of apoptotic cells .
PMID:35974093
Following DNA damage, recruited to DNA double-strand break sites where it colocalizes with the MRN repair complex via interaction with double-strand break repair protein MRE11 (By similarity). Enhances the endonuclease activity of MRE11, promoting the end resection of damaged DNA (By similarity). Promotes DNA damage repair in trophoblasts which enhances trophoblast invasion and contributes to placental development and maintenance .
PMID:33918759
Protects cells from DNA replication stress by localizing to damaged replication forks where it stabilizes the MCM2-7 complex and promotes faithful progression of the replication fork .
PMID:36807739
Mediates the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human endothelial cells PMID:25401185
Proteins that carry this drug through the body
ATC G02AC01
ATC H01BB02
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)
Oxytocin
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
7375
Guide to Pharmacology
2174
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:8529
GenAtlas
OXTR
GeneCards
OXTR
GenBank Gene Database
X64878
GenBank Protein Database
34765
Guide to Pharmacology
369
UniProt Accession
OXYR_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:897
GenAtlas
AVPR2
GeneCards
AVPR2
GenBank Gene Database
U04357
GenBank Protein Database
28418
Guide to Pharmacology
368
UniProt Accession
V2R_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:896
GenAtlas
AVPR1B
GeneCards
AVPR1B
GenBank Gene Database
D31833
GenBank Protein Database
563982
Guide to Pharmacology
367
UniProt Accession
V1BR_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:895
GenAtlas
AVPR1A
GeneCards
AVPR1A
GenBank Gene Database
L25615
GenBank Protein Database
667068
Guide to Pharmacology
366
UniProt Accession
V1AR_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:9358
GenAtlas
PREP
GeneCards
PREP
GenBank Gene Database
X74496
GenBank Protein Database
558596
Guide to Pharmacology
2395
UniProt Accession
PPCE_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:6656
GeneCards
LNPEP
Guide to Pharmacology
1570
UniProt Accession
LCAP_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:8528
GenAtlas
OXT
GeneCards
OXT
GenBank Gene Database
M25650
GenBank Protein Database
189411
UniProt Accession
NEU1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:320
GeneCards
AGER
Guide to Pharmacology
2843
UniProt Accession
RAGE_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
ATC classifications (Wikidata)
Linked open data from Wikidata (Q169960), a free and open knowledge base operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Data is available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication. WHO INN from the World Health Organization.