Ibuprofen  is a chemical compound, a monocarboxylic acid derived from propionic acid.

It occurs as a colourless liquid with a strong rancid smell.

What it is for and where

Take only under medical supervision

Medical

It is used as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) with anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic effects and a derivative of propionic acid. also has an important function as a cycloxygenase inhibitor. 

Ibuprofen and paracetamol are the most commonly used drugs against fever and pain management although the results of this study reveal that ibuprofen is more effective in the infant population both in reducing pain and lowering fever (1).

this drug has a protective action on neurons against glutamate toxicity and develops a neuroprotective action by lowering the level of production of inflammatory cytokines. This mechanism helps to reduce inflammation in the brain and is a new approach to treating cognitive decline diseases such as Alzheimer's (2)and Parkinson. In this regard, Wallenquist and others (3) have shown that ibuprofen has attenuated the inflammatory response induced by traumatic brain injury.

During the COVID-19, due to media coverage, the rumor had spread that ibuprofen acting on the angiotensin receptor could somehow facilitate the entry of the coronavirus that uses this very route of entry. The French Health Minister Oliver Veran had suggested using paracetamol instead of ibuprofen. However, the scientific literature has no reason to confirm this thesis, which derives from mechanistic and theoretical pharmacology (4).

Metoclopramide and ibuprofen may be effective alternative treatment options in high altitude headache and acute mountain sickness, especially for those patients who also report nausea (5).

Like all drugs it can cause side effects. Always ask the physician.

Ibuprofen insights

Typical optimal characteristics of the commercial product Ibuprofen

Appearance	Transparent liquid
Assay	99.0%~101.0% (anhydrous substance)
Density	1.0±0.1 g/cm3
Melting Point	75-78 °C(lit.)
Boiling Point	319.6±11.0 °C at 760 mmHg   157.0°C (4.0 mmHg)
Flash Point	216.7±14.4 °C
PSA	37.30000
Heavy metals	≤10 ppm
Water	≤1.0%
Sulphated ash	≤0.5%/1g
LogP	3.72
Vapor Pressure	0.0±0.7 mmHg at 25°C
Index of Refraction	1.519
Storage	-20°C
Safety

• Molecular Formula: C₁₃H₁₈O₂
• Molecular Weight: 206.28 g/mol
• CAS: 15687-27-1
• UNII: WK2XYI10QM
• EC Number: 239-784-6
• DSSTox Substance ID: DTXSID5020732
• MDL number MFCD00010393  
• PubChem Substance ID  329750144
• InChI=1S/C13H18O2/c1-9(2)8-11-4-6-12(7-5-11)10(3)13(14)15/h4-7,9-10H,8H2,1-3H3,(H,14,15) 
• HEFNNWSXXWATRW-UHFFFAOYSA-N     
• SMILES    CC(C)CC1=CC=C(C=C1)C(C)C(=O)O
• IUPAC   2-[4-(2-methylpropyl)phenyl]propanoic acid
• ChEBI 

Synonyms:

• Motrin
• Brufen
• Nuprin
• Ibumetin
• Rufen
• Salprofen
• 2-[4-(2-methylpropyl)phenyl]propanoic acid
• 4-Isobutylhydratropic acid
• Betaprofen
• p-Isobutylhydratropic acid

 References______________________________________________________

(1) Pierce, C. A., & Voss, B. (2010). Efficacy and Safety of Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen in Children and Adults: A Meta-Analysis and Qualitative Review. Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 44(3), 489–506. https://doi.org/10.1345/aph.1M332

(2) Dokmeci D. Ibuprofen and Alzheimer's disease. Folia Med (Plovdiv). 2004;46(2):5–10.

(3) Wallenquist, U., Holmqvist, K., Hnell, A., Marklund, N., Hillered, L., Forsberg-Nilsson, K. Ibuprofen attenuates the inflammatory response and allows formation of migratory neuroblasts from grafted stem cells after traumatic brain injury  Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience Volume 30, Issue 1, 2012, Pages 9-19

(4) Sodhi M, Etminan M. Safety of Ibuprofen in Patients With COVID-19: Causal or Confounded? [published online ahead of print, 2020 Mar 31]. Chest. 2020;S0012-3692(20)30572-9. doi:10.1016/j.chest.2020.03.040

Day M. Covid-19: European drugs agency to review safety of ibuprofen. BMJ. 2020;368:m1168. Published 2020 Mar 23. doi:10.1136/bmj.m1168

(5) Irons HR, Salas RN, Bhai SF, Gregorie WD, Harris NS. Prospective Double-Blinded Randomized Field-Based Clinical Trial of Metoclopramide and Ibuprofen for the Treatment of High Altitude Headache and Acute Mountain Sickness. Wilderness Environ Med. 2020;31(1):38–43. doi:10.1016/j.wem.2019.11.005

Updates on ibuprofen include the latest studies on anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, overdose, contraindications and safety.

Ballon Romero SS, Lee YC, Fuh LJ, Chung HY, Hung SY, Chen YH. Analgesic and Neuroprotective Effects of Electroacupuncture in a Dental Pulp Injury Model-A Basic Research. Int J Mol Sci. 2020;21(7):E2628. Published 2020 Apr 9. doi:10.3390/ijms21072628

Chakraborty K, Salas S. Antioxidative 2H-chromenyls attenuate pro-inflammatory 5-lipoxygenase and carbolytic enzymes: Prospective bioactive agents from Babylonidae gastropod mollusk Babylonia spirata [published online ahead of print, 2020 Apr 16]. J Food Biochem. 2020;e13196. doi:10.1111/jfbc.13196

Krukiewicz K, Kowalik A, Turczyn R, Biggs MJP. In vitro attenuation of astrocyte activation and neuroinflammation through ibuprofen-doping of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxypyrrole) formulations [published online ahead of print, 2020 Apr 8]. Bioelectrochemistry. 2020;134:107528. doi:10.1016/j.bioelechem.2020.107528

Abukhadra MR, Refay NM, Nadeem A, El-Sherbeeny AM, Ibrahim KE. Insight into the role of integrated carbohydrate polymers (starch, chitosan, and β-cyclodextrin) with mesoporous silica as carriers for ibuprofen drug; equilibrium and pharmacokinetic properties [published online ahead of print, 2020 Apr 12]. Int J Biol Macromol. 2020;S0141-8130(20)32909-3. doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.04.052

Searle S, Muse D, Paluch E, et al. Efficacy and Safety of Single and Multiple Doses of a Fixed-dose Combination of Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen in the Treatment of Postsurgical Dental Pain: Results from Two Phase 3, Randomized, Parallel-Group, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Studies [published online ahead of print, 2020 Apr 7]. Clin J Pain. 2020;10.1097/AJP.0000000000000828. doi:10.1097/AJP.0000000000000828

Motov S, Butt M, Masoudi A, et al. Comparison of Oral Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen with Either Analgesic Alone for Pediatric Emergency Department Patients with Acute Pain [published online ahead of print, 2020 Apr 1]. J Emerg Med. 2020;S0736-4679(20)30106-2. doi:10.1016/j.jemermed.2020.02.010

Sodhi M, Etminan M. Safety of Ibuprofen in Patients With COVID-19: Causal or Confounded? [published online ahead of print, 2020 Mar 31]. Chest. 2020;S0012-3692(20)30572-9. doi:10.1016/j.chest.2020.03.040

Tetorou A, Makhatova A, Poulopoulos SG. Photochemical mineralization of Ibuprofen medicinal product by means of UV, hydrogen peroxide, titanium dioxide and iron. Water Sci Technol. 2019;80(11):2200–2205. doi:10.2166/wst.2020.041

Asanad K, Nusbaum DJ, Samplaski MK. National opioid prescription patterns and patient usage after routine vasectomy [published online ahead of print, 2020 Mar 20]. Andrologia. 2020;e13563. doi:10.1111/and.13563

Korani M, Jamshidi M. The Effect of Aqueous Extract of Trachyspermum ammi Seeds and Ibuprofen on Inflammatory Gene Expression in the Cartilage Tissue of Rats with Collagen-Induced Arthritis. J Inflamm Res. 2020;13:133–139. Published 2020 Feb 28. doi:10.2147/JIR.S236242

Gaffar J, Gabrielli S, Lavine E, et al. Diagnosis of Ibuprofen allergy through oral challenge [published online ahead of print, 2020 Mar 11]. Clin Exp Allergy. 2020;10.1111/cea.13596. doi:10.1111/cea.13596

Oshima A, Matsumura S, Iwatani A, et al. Safety and Feasibility of Intravenous Paracetamol for Patent Ductus Arteriosus in Indomethacin-/Ibuprofen-Resistant or -Contraindicated Preterm Infants: A Case Series. AJP Rep. 2020;10(1):e49–e53. doi:10.1055/s-0040-1702945

Collins D. Ibuprofen for acute pain relief in the emergency department [published online ahead of print, 2020 Mar 3]. BMJ Evid Based Med. 2020;bmjebm-2019-111312. doi:10.1136/bmjebm-2019-111312

Che X, Xue J, Zhang J, Yang X, Wang L. One-step preparation of ibuprofen fast- and sustained-release formulation by electrospinning with improved efficacy and reduced side effect [published online ahead of print, 2020 Feb 18]. Pharm Dev Technol. 2020;1–7. doi:10.1080/10837450.2020.1728773

Ohlsson A, Walia R, Shah SS. Ibuprofen for the treatment of patent ductus arteriosus in preterm or low birth weight (or both) infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020;2(2):CD003481. Published 2020 Feb 11. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD003481.pub8

Karataş E, Baltacı MÖ, Uluköylü E, Adıgüzel A. Antibacterial effectiveness of calcium hydroxide alone or in combination with Ibuprofen and Ciprofloxacin in teeth with asymptomatic apical periodontitis: a randomized controlled clinical study [published online ahead of print, 2020 Feb 7]. Int Endod J. 2020;10.1111/iej.13277. doi:10.1111/iej.13277

Miller C, Humphreys IM, Davis GE. Effect of Over the Counter Ibuprofen Dosing after Sinus Surgery for Chronic Rhinosinusitis: A Prospective Cohort Pilot Study [published online ahead of print, 2020 Feb 6]. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2020;3489420906179. doi:10.1177/0003489420906179

Musselman E, Stannard D. Single-Dose Oral Ibuprofen Plus Caffeine for Acute Postoperative Pain in Adults. J Perianesth Nurs. 2020;35(1):85–86. doi:10.1016/j.jopan.2019.10.006