API Standards
Active ingredients are the substances in drugs that are responsible for the beneficial health effects experienced by consumers. The active ingredient in a pharmaceutical drug is called an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API).
An example of an API is the acetaminophen contained in a pain relief tablet. Such substances are intended to furnish pharmacological activity or other direct effect in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease or to affect the structure and function of the body. To ensure quality APIs reference standards are used to help ensure the identity, potency, quality and purity of drug products and drug substances. This is accomplished by analyzing the substance against its qualified reference standard, so the accuracy of reference materials is essential to the manufacture of quality APIs.
