Anyone who lives a completely vegan lifestyle only eats plant-based food and avoids additives and flavors, dietary supplements and medications of animal origin. Some people go so far as to avoid using animal-derived materials for clothing and everyday items such as wool and leather – and abstain from additives of animal origin that are used in the manufacturing process of medicines. Some manufacturers are now advertising their products as “vegan”. This makes it easier, especially with dietary supplements, to see whether they contain ingredients of animal origin.
When it comes to medicines, however, you usually have to start looking for traces if you ask the relevant questions. There is also not always a direct vegan alternative. We have put together basic knowledge for you. If in doubt, the pharmacy software or a call to the manufacturer can sometimes help.
Important– Of course, the following applies: Never stop or change medicines without consulting your doctor. In emergencies or serious illnesses, vegans should deviate from their principles. This also applies to important vaccinations, because vaccines usually contain chicken protein, gelatin or lactose and are therefore not vegan.
Active ingredients
With some medications it is obvious at first glance that they contain animal ingredients. For example, heparin, which has an antithrombotic effect, is still obtained from the intestinal mucosa of pigs. There is no alternative to heparin that is not of animal origin. This means that neither the classic thrombosis injections that are given after an operation nor herparin gels and ointments for treating bruises are vegan.
There are also no alternatives to active ingredients such as the digestive pancreatin, obtained from the pancreas of pigs, as well as the substances used in joint osteoarthritis, chondroitin sulfate from the cartilage of beef or chicken, for example, and glucosamine from the chitin shell of crustaceans.
In addition, tannin is obtained from the gall apple, which contains the larva of the oak gall wasp. Preparations for acute diarrhea that contain tannin albuminate are therefore not vegan.
Vegan alternatives
Thanks to new biotechnological processes, there are now vegan alternatives for some substances. One example is vitamin D supplements. The vitamin, which is classically extracted from wool fat (sheep), can also be produced from lichens and fungi. The process first produces ergocalciferol, i.e. vitamin D2, which is then enzymatically converted into vitamin D3 (colecalciferol). This is more complex and is reflected in the price of the products.
Omega-3 fatty acids can now also be obtained from microalgae instead of from fatty sea fish. And the hyaluronic acid used in many preparations (e.g. eye drops, cosmetics) is also no longer a critical ingredient for vegans. Because hyaluronic acid is no longer produced from cockscombs, but rather biotechnologically.
Vegans are also recommended to supplement vitamin B12. The vitamin itself is not critical because it is produced by intestinal bacteria and these are not considered animals. When dispensing a corresponding preparation, however, care must be taken to ensure that no lactose or gelatine has been used as excipients (see below).
Special case of biopharmaceuticals
Relatively new treatment options are biopharmaceuticals, also known as biologics. The biologically produced medicines, including many monoclonal antibodies, are used, for example, for cancer, rheumatism or multiple sclerosis. Most biopharmaceuticals are produced using genetic engineering production processes in living organisms, for example in genetically modified mammalian cells. They are therefore not vegan. However, some biopharmaceuticals also use bacterial or yeast cells. If customers have any questions, it is worth taking a look at the website of the Association of Research-Based Drug Manufacturers (vfa.de/gentech). All approved biopharmaceuticals can be found here, including the cell lines used for production.
Excipients
When it comes to excipients, it is usually more difficult to see whether they meet the requirements of people who live strictly vegan lives, because the excipients are often not of animal origin themselves. Rather, animal components are only used during the manufacturing process. For example, ethanol is often clarified using gelatin. However, such information is difficult to find. One option for research is the manufacturer’s website. Alternatively, you can specifically ask the producer if a customer values the fact that animal ingredients were avoided throughout the entire manufacturing process.
gelatin
The classic excipient is gelatin, for example processed into hard or soft gelatin capsules or in vaginal suppositories. Gelatine is obtained from collagen-containing animal raw materials such as the skin, connective tissue and bones of pigs and cattle. If gelatin is listed as an ingredient on the package, the product is never vegan.
As an alternative to capsules made of hard gelatine, there are already some manufacturers who use cellulose derivatives (hydroxypropylmethylcellulose). Carrageenan (from red algae) can be used for soft capsules. In soft rubber formulations, gelatin is sometimes replaced by starch or apple pectin, which can then also be consumed by vegans. But be careful, some manufacturers cover the soft rubbers produced in this way with beeswax. Then they are vegetarian, but not vegan. Such soft rubbers become vegan again if carnauba wax from the carnauba palm is used instead of beeswax. So some detective instinct is required.
lactose
Lactose is a very commonly used filler and comes from cow’s milk – so it is not vegan. This should not only be taken into account when dispensing tablets, but also with homeopathic preparations (tablets, globules). A vegan alternative would be sucrose or starch or choosing another dosage form, for example drops.
The situation is different with lactic acid. Today this is only produced synthetically. Neither the acid itself nor its salt (lactate) is of animal origin.
Other
Magnesium stearate is a common lubricant in tablet manufacturing, but can also be found in creams and ointments. It can be obtained from beef tallow, lard or milk fat. Alternatives include rapeseed, soybean or corn oil. If customers ask, look into the pharmacy software. If “vegetable magnesium stearate” is listed under excipients, the vegetable oils are the sources.
What many people don’t know: Chicken protein is needed to produce the purely plant-based thickener xanthan gum. If you want to avoid xanthan gum, you should know the name E415 and look closely at the list of ingredients for lozenges and juices.
Tablets may be coated with shellac (E904), a resinous substance made from secretions of the lac insect. Vegan alternatives here would be vegetable waxes or sugar for coating.
And not only in cosmetic products, but also in creams and ointments containing active ingredients, for example beeswax or lanolin obtained from sheep’s wool can be used.