Benzyl alcohol

General information

Benzyl alcohol is commonly used as a preservative in multidose injectable pharmaceutical formulations. For this purpose, concentrations in the range of 0.5–2.0% are used and the whole amount of benzyl alcohol injected is generally very well tolerated. Concentrations of 0.9% are used in Bacteriostatic Sodium Chlorine (USP), which is often used in the management of critically ill patients to flush intravascular catheters after the addition of medications or the withdrawal of blood, and in Sterile Bacteriostatic Water for injection (USP), used to dilute or reconstitute medications for intravenous use. The content of benzyl alcohol in a lot of injectable pharmaceutical formulations needs to be considered carefully. The view still taken in many countries that the additives and excipients in medicines are trade secrets must be deplored. The duty to declare them is only imposed in some countries.

The toxic effects of benzyl alcohol include respiratory vasodilatation, hypertension, convulsions, and paralysis.

Organs and systems