Coating Agents

a group of substances used in medicine that form highly adsorptive colloidal solutions with water. These solutions cover tissues with a film that protects against irritation and inhibits absorption.

Coating agents are used to form a protective layer over inflamed mucous membranes and skin and to promote more rapid resolution of inflammatory processes. They include starch, aluminum hydroxide, white clay, magnesium trisilicate, and flaxseed. Coating agents are tasteless and disguise the flavor of substances with which they are mixed. Their presence in the intestinal tract diminishes the effect of irritants and delays the absorption of water, food, and medicinal substances. Coating agents also prolong the local effects of medicinal substances on the intestinal tract.

Coating agents are used to treat inflammations of the mucosa of the oral cavity, throat, and gastrointestinal tract and to treat poisoning by irritants and caustic substances. They are also used in mixtures to avoid the irritant side effects of certain medicines and to prolong the duration of local action of various substances.

The ingredients of coating agents include finely ground powders that are highly adsorptive. This property enables these substances to be used in cases of poisoning to limit the absorption of toxins, for example, in poisoning by many salts of alkaloids and heavy metals. Coating agents in the form of powders are also used in the treatment of skin diseases.