Lithium is an alkali metal in the same family as sodium and potassium. Lithium is prescribed to treat manic depressive illness and bipolar disorder. Various versions of prescription lithium are available, including lithium carbonate, lithium citrate and lithium orotate. Prescription lithium orotate pills also contain calcium silicate, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose and silicone dioxide.
Lithium Orotate
Manic depression symptoms in bipolar disorder may be caused by a dysfunction in a particular cellular structure called the mitochondria. According to a 2009 study published in Bipolar Disorders, lithium stimulates mitochondrial enzymes. The bioavailability of lithium in the form of lithium orotate is enhanced many-fold compared to lithium carbonate and lithium citrate. The therapeutic dosage is much less for lithium orotate than the lithium citrate or lithium carbonate versions.
Calcium Silicate
Calcium silicate is an absorbant, a bulking agent and a opacifying agent, reports the CosmeticsInfo.Org website, a website sponsored by the Personal Care Products Council and its member companies sponsor. It is often used in medication as an anti-caking agent. It has the chemical formula CaSiO4, indicating one molecule of calcium, one molecular of silicon and four molecules of oxygen for every one molecule of calcium silicate.
Magnesium Stearate
Magnesium stearate helps bind oil and liquid ingredients together, according to Cosmeticsinfo.org. In pills, such as those containing lithium orotate, magnesium stearate is an inactive ingredient that dilutes lithium and bulks up the tablet so that the pill is more practical and convenient to take, indicates a January 2008 articles in Chemical and Engineering News.
Microcrystalline Cellulose
Cosmeticsinfo.org, explains that microcrystalline cellulose functions similarly to magnesium stearate in that it is also an inactive bulking agent capable of keeping liquid and oil ingredients from separating. Cellulose is derived from the cell wall of plants.
Silicone Dioxide
According to HealthLine, silicone dioxide is the main ingredient in sand. Transparent and tasteless, silicone dioxide is an anticaking agent and emulsion stabilizer, helping tablets disintegrate in your body as well as increasing their thermal stability, indicates a 2008 article in Drug News, a news magazine for pharmacists.
