Chlorpheniramine Maleate

Chinese
扑尔敏
Pinyin
Pu Er Min
Latin
Chlorpheniramini Maleas

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

  • Import-variant modern drug record rather than a classical herb - chlorpheniramine maleate is a first-generation H1-antihistamine used in modern medicine, not a traditional decoction herb.
  • Relieves histamine-mediated allergic symptoms - its practical role is the reduction of sneezing, rhinorrhea, itching, urticaria, and related allergic irritation through H1-receptor blockade.
  • Provides short-term symptomatic relief - it has long been used in oral, injectable, and topical or intranasal formulations for allergic rhinitis, urticaria, and common-cold combinations.
  • Carries sedating anticholinergic effects - unlike non-sedating second-generation antihistamines, chlorpheniramine retains central and anticholinergic activity that shapes both its usefulness and its limitations.

Secondary Actions

  • In integrated East Asian datasets, chlorpheniramine sometimes appears because it has been incorporated into modern combined remedies and hospital practice rather than because it belongs to classical materia medica.
  • This file should therefore be read as a modern pharmacology entry retained for library completeness, not as a replacement for traditional pattern-based allergy or wind-heat treatment.

Classic Formulas

  • No classical formulas - chlorpheniramine maleate belongs to modern pharmaceutical practice rather than traditional Chinese formula lineage.

Classical References

  • IMPORT NOTE: The source XLSX imported this record as the modern drug chlorpheniramine maleate with the pinyin Pu Er Min. This is not a canonical Chinese materia-medica item.
  • Its appearance in this library reflects modern crossover prescribing and compound import datasets rather than classical herb usage.
  • Interpret this file as a contemporary antihistamine profile that coexists with, but does not replace, traditional herb-based management of allergy-related patterns.

Modern Research

Active Compounds

  • Chlorpheniramine maleate - the maleate salt used in most oral and injectable pharmaceutical formulations
  • Chlorpheniramine - the active first-generation alkylamine H1-antihistamine base
  • Dexchlorpheniramine - the dextrorotatory isomer associated with much of the antihistaminic activity
  • Desmethylchlorpheniramine and other metabolites - pharmacokinetic products relevant to duration and clearance
  • Maleate counterion - formulation component important to stability but not the primary therapeutic driver

Studied Effects

  • A modern review summarized chlorpheniramine's pharmacokinetic, bioavailability, and formulation considerations across species, reinforcing its long-standing role as a widely used but older-generation antihistamine (PMID 41458965).
  • An intranasal chlorpheniramine maleate pilot trial improved allergic-rhinitis symptoms, illustrating continued interest in alternative delivery systems for an established drug (PMID 33816038).
  • Earlier randomized controlled work supported chlorpheniramine's efficacy in chronic idiopathic urticaria, especially in combination antihistamine strategies (PMID 3307890).
  • Safety literature includes rare but real chlorpheniramine-induced anaphylaxis, reminding clinicians that even common antihistamines can provoke severe hypersensitivity in susceptible patients (PMID 31852144).

PubMed References

Safety & Interactions

Contraindications

  • Known hypersensitivity to chlorpheniramine or related antihistamines
  • Narrow-angle glaucoma
  • Urinary retention or severe prostatic obstruction
  • Concurrent monoamine oxidase inhibitor use

Cautions

  • Sedation, slowed reaction time, and impaired concentration are common enough that driving and alcohol co-use deserve explicit caution
  • As a first-generation antihistamine, chlorpheniramine can produce anticholinergic adverse effects such as dry mouth, constipation, blurred vision, and urinary retention
  • Older adults and young children are more vulnerable to paradoxical CNS effects, confusion, or excessive sedation
  • Rare severe hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis, have been reported despite the drug's common routine use

Drug Interactions

  • Alcohol and other CNS depressants — Additive sedation and psychomotor impairment may occur (Major) Source: Chlorpheniramine pharmacology and prescribing literature
  • Monoamine oxidase inhibitors — MAO inhibitors can prolong and intensify anticholinergic and CNS effects (Major) Source: Chlorpheniramine pharmacology and prescribing literature

Conditions