Amiloride Hydrochloride (Amiloride Hydrochloride) Patient Information: Side Effects and Drug Images at RxList

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May 24, 2012

Amiloride hydrochloride

Diuretics »

What are diuretics and how do they work?

The amount of fluid (water) retained by the body is controlled primarily by the kidneys. This occurs due to the kidney's ability to control the retention and elimination of sodium and chloride, because the amounts of sodium, chloride, and water in the body are carefully balanced. Thus, if sodium and chloride are eliminated from the body, water also is eliminated. Conversely, if sodium and chloride are retained by the body, so is water.

The elimination of sodium, chloride, and water from the body is somewhat complex. In the kidneys, sodium, chloride, and other small molecules are filtered out of the blood and into the tubules of the kidney where urine is formed. Most of the sodium, chloride, and water are reabsorbed into the blood before the filtered fluid leaves the kidney in the form of urine. To make matters even more complex, there are different mechanisms that are active in different parts of the tu...

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Amiloride Hydrochloride

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AMILORIDE HYDROCHLORIDE
Tablets, USP

DRUG DESCRIPTION

Amiloride HCl, an antikaliuretic-diuretic agent, is a pyrazine-carbonyl-guanidine that is unrelated chemically to other known antikaliuretic or diuretic agents. It is the salt of a moderately strong base (pKa 8.7). It is designated chemically as 3,5-diamino-6-chloro- N-(diaminomethylene) pyrazinecarboxamide monohydrochloride, dihydrate and has a molecular weight of 302.12. Its empirical formula is C₆H₈CIN₇O•HCl•2H₂O and its structural formula is:

Amiloride Hcl Structural Formula Illustration

Each tablet for oral administration contains 5 mg of Amiloride HCI, calculated on the anhydrous basis. Each tablet contains the following inactive ingredients: colloidal silicon dioxide, croscarmellose sodium, D&C yellow #10 lake, dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate, FD&C yellow #6 lake, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose and silicon dioxide.

Last reviewed on RxList: 6/26/2008
This monograph has been modified to include the generic and brand name in many instances.