Chrominfo: Difference between syrup and suspension

The major difference between syrup and suspension is that the syrup is a concentrated mixture of sugar and water whereas suspension is made up of fine particles of an undissolved solid that are dispersed in a liquid medium.

The dosage forms are the different drug products they are classified according to the route of drug administration and according to the physical form. Medicines and drugs come in different forms they can be solid, semisolid, liquid, and gaseous dosage forms and they can be administered orally, topically, parenterally, inhalation, and instilled in body cavities. Some examples of dosage forms are tablets, capsules, granules, emulsion, syrup, suspension, elixirs, parenteral preparations, lotions, linctuses, eardrops, suppositories, troches, gels, paste, creams, ointments, and mouthwash, etc.

Table of Contents

What is syrup?
What is suspension?
Difference between syrup and suspension
Commonly asked questions

Oral liquids are homogeneous liquid formulations that typically consist of one or more active pharmaceutical ingredients in a suitable solution, emulsion, or suspension. Oral liquid dosage forms are usually classified into two types- monophonic and biphasic. It is more suitable for patients particularly for children and elderly patients who have difficulty swallowing tablets or other solid medication. Liquids are absorbed faster, more palatable than solids, have more flexibility to formulated and it does not have an unpleasant taste and odor these are some of the advantages of liquid dosage forms.

The pharmaceutical suspension and syrup are both liquid oral dosage forms although they have some differences in their nature and properties, let's check them.

What is syrup?

The pharmaceutical syrup is a viscous oral liquid consisting primarily of sugar or any other sweetening agents. It is one of the dosage forms in which drugs with preservatives and excipients are made soluble in the liquid. Some syrup is less viscous, some are more viscous, and their viscosity depends on the sweetness concentration used in the formulation. There are three types of syrups, simple syrup, medicated syrup, and flavored syrup, and these are best suited for pediatric use.

What is suspension?

Pharmaceutical suspension is a semi-solid or biphasic liquid dosage form, in which the internal phase is dispersed uniformly throughout the external phase, resulting in a coarse dispersion. The internal phase ranges from 0.5 to 5 microns in size, whereas the outer phase, which is usually aqueous in some instances, maybe organic or oily liquid for non-oral use. Oral suspensions, parenteral suspensions, ophthalmic suspensions, and suspensions for external use are the four major types of suspensions based on their pharmaceutical use.

Difference between syrup and suspension:

A syrup is a solution that completely dissolves into its solvent, whereas a suspension is a mixture of solutes in which the drug particles do not completely dissolve in the solvent.
The syrup may not be suitable for patients with diabetes due to the high amount of sugar, while the suspension may be appropriate because it does not make with sugar.
Syrups are dissolved in various solvents such as sugar or alcohol, while suspensions are dissolved in water.
The syrups are suitable for children because the sugar in the formulation masks the bitter or unpleasant taste, while the suspension may not be suitable for children due to unpleasant taste.
The pharmaceutical syrup is a solution that fully dissolves into its solvent, so it does not need to be shaken, while suspensions need to shake well before administration, as the drug particles settle to the bottom upon long-standing.
Pharmaceutical suspension products require labeling such as "shake well before use", while syrup does not require this type of labeling.

Syrup VS Suspension