Pseudoephedrine hydrochloride 60mg tablets
Available from a pharmacy with pharmacist advice
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 Pseudoephedrine
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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 Pseudoephedrine
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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.
6 branded products available
Part of the Contac brand family (generic: Pseudoephedrine)
MHRA licensed products
View all licensed products for Pseudoephedrine on the MHRA register
Boots Decongestant 60mg tablets
Care Decongestant 60mg tablets
Sudafed Decongestant 60mg tablets
This is the NHS Drug Tariff indicative price used for reimbursement purposes. It may not reflect the price paid by patients or pharmacies.
View full Drug TariffSource: NHS Drug Tariff via NHSBSA. Derived from dm+d VMPP (Virtual Medicinal Product Pack) pricing data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
WHO defined daily dose (DDD)
240 mg
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(1)
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: 12 · Randomised trials: 2 · 1987–2026
Showing the 50 most relevant studies, sorted by most relevant.
AlGhamdi MA, Katib RI, Bawazir RO, et al.
2026
S. Salerno, J. Jackson, Elizabeth P. Berbano
Archives of internal medicine, 2005
- Blood Pressure
- Ephedrine
- Heart Rate
M. Gheorghiev, F. Hosseini, J. Moran, et al.
Sports Medicine - Open, 2018
K. Trinh, Jiin Kim, Amanda Ritsma
BMJ Open Sport — Exercise Medicine, 2015
Sakayori T, Ikeda Y, Arakawa R, et al.
2024
- Brain
- Positron-Emission Tomography
- Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
Nakamura Y, Yokoyama Y, Koyama S, et al.
2024
- Nasal Obstruction
- Terfenadine
- Rhinomanometry
Andrew G. Myers, Bryant H. Yang, Hou Chen, et al.
Journal of the American Chemical Society, 1997
Andrew G. Myers, Bryant H. Yang, Hou Chen, et al.
Journal of the American Chemical Society, 1994
Jonathan Corren, Alan G. Harris, Donald W. Aaronson, et al.
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 1997
- Albuterol
- Asthma
- Ephedrine
Krystyna Głowacka, Anna Wiela−Hojeńska
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2021
- Bronchodilator Agents
- Methamphetamine
- Risk Assessment
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
89 found
Half-life
6.0h
Mechanism
Pseudoephedrine acts mainly as an agonist of alpha adrenergic receptors[A189381]…
Food interactions
1 warning
Human targets
13 targets
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
240mg
Half-life
6.0h
[L11031]
Protein binding
0.4%
Volume of distribution
2.6-3.3L/kg
[L11031]
Metabolism
1%
[L11058][L11061]
The majority of pseudoephedrine is eliminated unmetabolized in the urine.
[L11058][L11061]
Elimination
55-75%
[L11040]
Clearance
60mg
[L11040]
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
[L11031][L11037][L11040][L11046][L11052][L11058][L11061]
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 1085 interactions
[L11040]
Patients experiencing an overdose of pseudoephedrine may present with giddiness, headache, nausea, vomiting, sweating, thirst, tachycardia, precordial pain, palpitations, difficulty urinating, muscle weakness, muscle tension, anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, toxic psychosis, cardiac arrhythmias, circulatory collapse, convulsions, coma, and respiratory failure.
[L11058][L11061]
Treat overdose with symptomatic and supportive treatment including removal of unabsorbed drug.
[L11058][L11061]
The sympathomimetic effects of pseudoephedrine include an increase in mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and chronotropic response of the right atria.[A17197] Pseudoephedrine is also a partial agonist of the anococcygeal muscle.[A17197] Pseudoephedrine also inhibits NF-kappa-B, NFAT, and AP-1.[A18244]
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[A189360]
[L11031]
[A189354]
+pseudoephedrine is 6.7±1.2% protein bound to human serum albumin and 25.4±3.9% protein bound in human serum.
[A189354]
[L11031]
[L11058][L11061]
The majority of pseudoephedrine is eliminated unmetabolized in the urine.
[L11058][L11061]
[L11040]
[L11040]
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
PMID:2008212 PMID:8125921 PMID:38750358
Is responsible for norepinephrine re-uptake and clearance from the synaptic cleft, thus playing a crucial role in norepinephrine inactivation and homeostasis (By similarity). Can also mediate sodium- and chloride-dependent transport of dopamine PMID:11093780 PMID:8125921 PMID:39395208 PMID:39048818
PMID:10375632 PMID:11093780 PMID:1406597 PMID:15505207 PMID:19478460 PMID:39112701 PMID:39112703 PMID:39112705 PMID:8302271
Also mediates sodium- and chloride-dependent transport of norepinephrine (also known as noradrenaline) (By similarity). Regulator of light-dependent retinal hyaloid vessel regression, downstream of OPN5 signaling (By similarity)
PMID:10407194 PMID:12869649 PMID:21730057 PMID:27049939 PMID:27756841 PMID:34851672
Essential for serotonin homeostasis in the central nervous system. In the developing somatosensory cortex, acts in glutamatergic neurons to control serotonin uptake and its trophic functions accounting for proper spatial organization of cortical neurons and elaboration of sensory circuits.
In the mature cortex, acts primarily in brainstem raphe neurons to mediate serotonin uptake from the synaptic cleft back into the pre-synaptic terminal thus terminating serotonin signaling at the synapse (By similarity). Modulates mucosal serotonin levels in the gastrointestinal tract through uptake and clearance of serotonin in enterocytes. Required for enteric neurogenesis and gastrointestinal reflexes (By similarity).
Regulates blood serotonin levels by ensuring rapid high affinity uptake of serotonin from plasma to platelets, where it is further stored in dense granules via vesicular monoamine transporters and then released upon stimulation .
PMID:17506858 PMID:18317590
Mechanistically, the transport cycle starts with an outward-open conformation having Na1(+) and Cl(-) sites occupied. The binding of a second extracellular Na2(+) ion and serotonin substrate leads to structural changes to outward-occluded to inward-occluded to inward-open, where the Na2(+) ion and serotonin are released into the cytosol. Binding of intracellular K(+) ion induces conformational transitions to inward-occluded to outward-open and completes the cycle by releasing K(+) possibly together with a proton bound to Asp-98 into the extracellular compartment.
Na1(+) and Cl(-) ions remain bound throughout the transport cycle .
PMID:10407194 PMID:12869649 PMID:21730057 PMID:27049939 PMID:27756841 PMID:34851672
Additionally, displays serotonin-induced channel-like conductance for monovalent cations, mainly Na(+) ions. The channel activity is uncoupled from the transport cycle and may contribute to the membrane resting potential or excitability (By similarity)
Enzymes involved in drug metabolism — important for understanding drug interactions
Proteins that transport this drug across cell membranes
PMID:2008212 PMID:8125921 PMID:38750358
Is responsible for norepinephrine re-uptake and clearance from the synaptic cleft, thus playing a crucial role in norepinephrine inactivation and homeostasis (By similarity). Can also mediate sodium- and chloride-dependent transport of dopamine PMID:11093780 PMID:8125921 PMID:39395208 PMID:39048818
PMID:10375632 PMID:11093780 PMID:1406597 PMID:15505207 PMID:19478460 PMID:39112701 PMID:39112703 PMID:39112705 PMID:8302271
Also mediates sodium- and chloride-dependent transport of norepinephrine (also known as noradrenaline) (By similarity). Regulator of light-dependent retinal hyaloid vessel regression, downstream of OPN5 signaling (By similarity)
PMID:10407194 PMID:12869649 PMID:21730057 PMID:27049939 PMID:27756841 PMID:34851672
Essential for serotonin homeostasis in the central nervous system. In the developing somatosensory cortex, acts in glutamatergic neurons to control serotonin uptake and its trophic functions accounting for proper spatial organization of cortical neurons and elaboration of sensory circuits.
In the mature cortex, acts primarily in brainstem raphe neurons to mediate serotonin uptake from the synaptic cleft back into the pre-synaptic terminal thus terminating serotonin signaling at the synapse (By similarity). Modulates mucosal serotonin levels in the gastrointestinal tract through uptake and clearance of serotonin in enterocytes. Required for enteric neurogenesis and gastrointestinal reflexes (By similarity).
Regulates blood serotonin levels by ensuring rapid high affinity uptake of serotonin from plasma to platelets, where it is further stored in dense granules via vesicular monoamine transporters and then released upon stimulation .
PMID:17506858 PMID:18317590
Mechanistically, the transport cycle starts with an outward-open conformation having Na1(+) and Cl(-) sites occupied. The binding of a second extracellular Na2(+) ion and serotonin substrate leads to structural changes to outward-occluded to inward-occluded to inward-open, where the Na2(+) ion and serotonin are released into the cytosol. Binding of intracellular K(+) ion induces conformational transitions to inward-occluded to outward-open and completes the cycle by releasing K(+) possibly together with a proton bound to Asp-98 into the extracellular compartment.
Na1(+) and Cl(-) ions remain bound throughout the transport cycle .
PMID:10407194 PMID:12869649 PMID:21730057 PMID:27049939 PMID:27756841 PMID:34851672
Additionally, displays serotonin-induced channel-like conductance for monovalent cations, mainly Na(+) ions. The channel activity is uncoupled from the transport cycle and may contribute to the membrane resting potential or excitability (By similarity)
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 R01BA52
ATC R01BA02
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)
Pseudoephedrine
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
773
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
6492
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
8942
ChemSpider
6761
ZINC
ZINC000000020259
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:11048
GenAtlas
SLC6A2
GeneCards
SLC6A2
GenBank Gene Database
M65105
GenBank Protein Database
189258
Guide to Pharmacology
926
UniProt Accession
SC6A2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:11049
GenAtlas
SLC6A3
GeneCards
SLC6A3
GenBank Gene Database
M96670
GenBank Protein Database
553260
Guide to Pharmacology
927
UniProt Accession
SC6A3_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:277
GenAtlas
ADRA1A
GeneCards
ADRA1A
GenBank Gene Database
D25235
GenBank Protein Database
433201
Guide to Pharmacology
22
UniProt Accession
ADA1A_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:281
GenAtlas
ADRA2A
GeneCards
ADRA2A
GenBank Gene Database
M23533
GenBank Protein Database
178196
Guide to Pharmacology
25
UniProt Accession
ADA2A_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:11050
GenAtlas
SLC6A4
GeneCards
SLC6A4
GenBank Gene Database
X70697
GenBank Protein Database
36433
Guide to Pharmacology
928
UniProt Accession
SC6A4_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:3023
GenAtlas
DRD2
GeneCards
DRD2
GenBank Gene Database
M30625
GenBank Protein Database
181432
Guide to Pharmacology
215
UniProt Accession
DRD2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:286
GenAtlas
ADRB2
GeneCards
ADRB2
GenBank Gene Database
Y00106
GenBank Protein Database
29371
Guide to Pharmacology
29
UniProt Accession
ADRB2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:285
GenAtlas
ADRB1
GeneCards
ADRB1
GenBank Gene Database
J03019
GenBank Protein Database
178200
Guide to Pharmacology
28
UniProt Accession
ADRB1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:7775
GeneCards
NFATC1
UniProt Accession
NFAC1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:11892
GenAtlas
TNF
GeneCards
TNF
GenBank Gene Database
M16441
GenBank Protein Database
339741
UniProt Accession
TNFA_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:7794
GenAtlas
NFKB1
GeneCards
NFKB1
GenBank Gene Database
M55643
GenBank Protein Database
189180
UniProt Accession
NFKB1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:783
GeneCards
ATF1
UniProt Accession
ATF1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:784
GeneCards
ATF2
UniProt Accession
ATF2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:785
GeneCards
ATF3
UniProt Accession
ATF3_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:786
GeneCards
ATF4
UniProt Accession
ATF4_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:790
GeneCards
ATF5
UniProt Accession
ATF5_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:791
GeneCards
ATF6
UniProt Accession
ATF6A_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:792
GeneCards
ATF7
UniProt Accession
ATF7_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:17546
GeneCards
JDP2
UniProt Accession
JDP2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:3796
GenAtlas
FOS
GeneCards
FOS
GenBank Gene Database
V01512
GenBank Protein Database
29904
UniProt Accession
FOS_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:6204
GenAtlas
JUN
GeneCards
JUN
GenBank Gene Database
J04111
GenBank Protein Database
386839
UniProt Accession
JUN_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:6001
GenAtlas
IL2
GeneCards
IL2
GenBank Gene Database
J00264
GenBank Protein Database
5729676
UniProt Accession
IL2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:6833
GenAtlas
MAOA
GeneCards
MAOA
GenBank Gene Database
M68840
GenBank Protein Database
187353
Guide to Pharmacology
2489
UniProt Accession
AOFA_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:399
GenAtlas
ALB
GeneCards
ALB
GenBank Gene Database
V00494
GenBank Protein Database
28590
UniProt Accession
ALBU_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:11048
GenAtlas
SLC6A2
GeneCards
SLC6A2
GenBank Gene Database
M65105
GenBank Protein Database
189258
Guide to Pharmacology
926
UniProt Accession
SC6A2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:11049
GenAtlas
SLC6A3
GeneCards
SLC6A3
GenBank Gene Database
M96670
GenBank Protein Database
553260
Guide to Pharmacology
927
UniProt Accession
SC6A3_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:11050
GenAtlas
SLC6A4
GeneCards
SLC6A4
GenBank Gene Database
X70697
GenBank Protein Database
36433
Guide to Pharmacology
928
UniProt Accession
SC6A4_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 (Q263958), 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.