The key difference between furosemide and spironolactone is that furosemide is a diuretic that can remove extra water and certain electrolytes from the body via urine, whereas spironolactone is a diuretic that can conserve potassium and balance the level of potassium in the body.
Furosemide and spironolactone are important organic compounds that are useful in treating different conditions. Both these are diuretic compounds.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Furosemide
3. What is Spironolactone
4. Furosemide vs Spironolactone in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Furosemide vs Spironolactone
What is Furosemide?
Furosemide is a loop diuretic medication useful in treating fluid build-up that comes due to heart failure, liver scarring, or kidney disease. It can also be useful for the treatment of high blood pressure, and it is administered through injection into a vein or by oral administration. Typically, it begins to work within an hour when taken orally. If it is taken intravenously, it tends to start working within five minutes.
Figure 01: The Chemical Structure of Furosemide
The trade name of furosemide is Lasix. The bioavailability of this compound can be given as 43-69%, and its protein binding ranges from 91-99%. Metabolism of furosemide occurs in the liver and kidney. The onset of action of this medication is up to 60 minutes. Its elimination half-life is about 100 minutes. The excretion of furosemide occurs in the kidney by 66% and in the bile duct by 33%.
There are some side effects of this medication: feeling lightheaded with standing, ringing in the ears, and sensitivity to light. However, there can be some serious effects as well, including electrolyte abnormalities, low blood pressure, and hearing loss.
The chemical formula of furosemide is C12H11ClN2O5S. Its molar mass is 330.74 g/mol. It can be named a sulfamoylanthranilic acid derivative. The hydrogen bond donor count of this compound is 3, and the hydrogen bond acceptor count is 7. It has a rotatable bond count of 5. The formal charge of this compound is zero. Furosemide has a heavy atom count of 21. The complexity is about 481 degrees.
What is Spironolactone?
Spironolactone is a medication useful in treating fluid build-up due to heart failure, liver scarring, or kidney disease. It is also useful in treating high blood pressure, low blood potassium, etc. The brand name of this medication is Aldactone.
Figure 02: The Chemical Structure of Spironolactone
There can be some side effects of using this drug, which include electrolyte abnormalities such as high blood potassium, nausea, vomiting, headache, rashes, and decreased desire for sex. Moreover, the evidence regarding the effects of this drug during pregnancy is low.
It is a type of steroid that can block the effects of hormones aldosterone and testosterone. It has some effects similar to estrogen. Further, this medication belongs to a class of medications named potassium-sparing diuretics. The bioavailability of this medication is 60-90%. It has a protein binding ability of 88%. The metabolism of spironolactone occurs in the liver. The metabolites of this medication are canrenone and others. The elimination half-life of spironolactone can be given as 1.4 hours. The chemical formula of this compound is C24H32O4S and its molar mass is 416.58 g/mol. The melting point ranges from 134 to 135 degrees Celsius.
What is the Difference Between Furosemide and Spironolactone?
The key difference between furosemide and spironolactone is that furosemide is a diuretic that can remove extra water and certain electrolytes from the body via urine, whereas spironolactone is a diuretic that can conserve potassium and balance the level of potassium in the body. Moreover, furosemide causes potassium loss while spironolactone keeps the potassium levels from getting too low. Spironolactone has a higher efficiency than furosemide.
The below infographic presents the differences between furosemide and spironolactone in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Furosemide vs Spironolactone
Furosemide and spironolactone are important medications useful as diuretics. The key difference between furosemide and spironolactone is that furosemide is a diuretic that can remove extra water and certain electrolytes from the body via urine, whereas spironolactone is a diuretic that can conserve potassium and balance the level of potassium in the body.
Reference:
1. “Furosemide.” National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Database, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Furosemide” By Fvasconcellos (talk · contribs) – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Spironolactone” By Ayacop – PubChem (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia