The key difference between fluticasone furoate and fluticasone propionate is that fluticasone furoate has a greater affinity towards glucocorticoid receptors and has a longer duration of effect, whereas fluticasone propionate has a shorter duration of effect.
Generally, fluticasone propionate is recommended for children only above four years. However, fluticasone furoate is recommended for children as young as two years of age for their allergic reactions.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Fluticasone Furoate
3. What is Fluticasone Propionate
4. Fluticasone Furoate vs Fluticasone Propionate in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Fluticasone Furoate vs Fluticasone Propionate
What is Fluticasone Furoate?
Fluticasone furoate is a corticosteroid medication that is useful in treating non-allergic and allergic rhinitis. This drug is sold under the brand name Veramyst, and it is administered as a nasal spray. It is available as an inhaled corticosteroid as well. It can help in preventing and controlling symptoms of asthma. Fluticasone furoate is derived from cortisol. This medication is safe to be used for children as young as two years of age to treat allergic reactions. The bioavailability of fluticasone furoate is very low, about 0.51%, and its protein binding ability is high, about 91%. Its metabolism occurs in the liver, and the elimination half-life is 15 hours.
The chemical formula of fluticasone furoate is C27H29F3O6S. The molar mass of this compound is 538.58 g/mol. It can be described as the furoate salt form of fluticasone. Fluticasone is a synthetic trifluorinated glucocorticoid receptor agonist that can show anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-pruritic effects. When administered, this medication can bind and activate glucocorticoid receptors. This leads to the activation of lipocortin. On the other hand, lipocortin can inhibit cytosolic phospholipase A2 and the cascade of reactions that involve the synthesis of inflammatory mediators (e.g. prostaglandins).
Figure 01: The Chemical Structure of Fluticasone Furoate
The hydrogen bond donor count of fluticasone furoate is 1, and the hydrogen bond acceptor count is 10. Moreover, the rotatable bond count is 6. It has a heavy atom count of 37, where the formal charge of the whole compound is zero. The defined atom stereocenter count is 9, while the covalently-bonded unit count is 1. The melting point of fluticasone furoate is in the range of 250 – 252 degrees Celsius, and this compound is insoluble in water.
What is Fluticasone Propionate?
Fluticasone propionate is a steroid medication that can be used for the long-term management of asthma and COPD when inhaled. This medication is sold under the brand names Flovent and Flonase. Moreover, it can be used for hay fever and nasal polyps. It can also be used to treat mouth ulcers.
The common side effects of fluticasone propionate include upper respiratory tract infections, sinusitis, thrush, and cough. When used in the nose, it can cause nose bleeding and sore throat. Moreover, it works by decreasing inflammation. The bioavailability of fluticasone propionate is about 0.51%, and the protein binding ability is 91%. The metabolism occurs in the liver, and the elimination half-life is 10 hours. The excretion occurs in the kidney.
The chemical formula of fluticasone propionate is C25H31F3O5S. The molar mass of this compound is 500.57 g/mol. This compound is broken down by CYP3A4, and it shows interactions with strong inhibitors of CYP3A4 inhibitors, including ritonavir and ketoconazole.
Generally, fluticasone propionate is recommended only for children above 4 years of age. This drug acts as a highly selective agonist at the glucocorticoid receptor with negligible activity at androgen, estrogen, and mineralocorticoid receptors. This produces anti-inflammatory and vasoconstriction effects as well. It also shows a wide range of inhibitory effects on different cell types and mediators involved in inflammation.
What is the Difference Between Fluticasone Furoate and Fluticasone Propionate?
Both fluticasone furoate and fluticasone propionate are clinically effective in reducing allergic and non-allergic reactions. However, the key difference between fluticasone furoate and fluticasone propionate is that fluticasone furoate has a greater affinity towards glucocorticoid receptors and has a longer duration of effect, whereas fluticasone propionate has a shorter duration of effect. Furthermore, fluticasone furoate can be recommended for small children as young as 2 years of age, but fluticasone propionate is not recommended for children below 4 years.
The below infographic presents the differences between fluticasone furoate and fluticasone propionate in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Fluticasone Furoate vs Fluticasone Propionate
Fluticasone furoate is a corticosteroid medication that is useful in treating non-allergic and allergic rhinitis. Fluticasone propionate, on the other hand, is a steroid medication that can be used for the long-term management of asthma and COPD when inhaled. The key difference between fluticasone furoate and fluticasone propionate is that fluticasone furoate has a greater affinity towards glucocorticoid receptors and it has a longer duration of effect, whereas fluticasone propionate has a shorter duration of effect.
Reference:
1. “Fluticasone Furoate.” National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Database, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Fluticasone furoate” By Fvasconcellos 23:08, 21 September 2007 (UTC) – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia