Advair Components

According to Mosby’s Drug Consult, Advair is a brand-name oral inhaler that is used to control asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease associated with chronic bronchitis. Advair was developed and marketed by pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline and was approved in 2000 by the FDA, according to Drugs.com. The active ingredients in Advair are fluticasone propionate, a steroid, and salmeterol xinafoate, a bronchodilator, according to RxList. Advair’s plastic inhaler is shaped like a disk, which is why it’s called Advair Diskus. Drugs.com says that Advair Diskus comes in three dosages per inhalation: 500 mcg of fluticasone and 50 mcg of salmeterol, 250 mcg of fluticasone and 50 mcg of salmeterol and 100 mcg of fluticasone 50 mcg of salmeterol. In addition to the active ingredients, Advair Diskus also contains lactose.

Fluticasone Propionate

According to DailyMed, fluticasone propionate is a synthetic tri-fluorinated corticosteroid with potent anti-inflammatory activity. Fluticasone acts as a glucocorticoid receptor agonist against many cell types involved in the asthma response, such as mast cells, eosinophils, basophils and lymphocytes, according to Mosby’s Drug Consult. With these cell types suppressed, the chemicals that cause asthma, such as histamine, are not produced, which explains why corticosteroids are effective for relief of asthma symptoms. DailyMed says that inflammation is also a component in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease associated with chronic bronchitis, but because different cell types and chemicals are involved, corticosteroids like fluticasone are not as effective against bronchitis symptoms by themselves.

Salmeterol Xinafoate

According to DailyMed, salmeterol xinafoate is a selective, long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonist. As such, a chemical called “cyclic AMP” is produced, which causes relaxation of bronchial smooth muscle and inhibition of release of histamine and prompts the inflammation response, according to the Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine. Therefore, salmeterol by itself is more effective at relieving the symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease associated with chronic bronchitis than the symptoms of asthma. Combined as Advair Diskus, fluticasone and salmeterol provide better symptom control for both asthma and bronchitis than either does individually, according to DailyMed.

Lactose

Lactose is the only inactive ingredient in Advair Diskus. According to the Dictionary of Pharmaceutical Medicine, lactose is a white crystalline substance obtained from milk protein and used as a diluent and excipient within powders. As RxList explains, “Each blister on the double-foil strip within the Diskus contains 100, 250, or 500 mcg of microfine fluticasone propionate and 72.5 mcg of microfine salmeterol xinafoate salt, equivalent to 50 mcg of salmeterol base, in 12.5 mg of formulation containing lactose, which contains milk proteins.”