What is it?

Crospovidone (cross linked polyvinyl N-pyrrolidone, or PVP) is a common, FDA-approved inactive ingredient used in the pharmaceutical industry. Crospovidone is often combined with active ingredients in medications and dietary supplements to allow absorption of the active drug. It is considered a synthetic povidone analog. Chemically, crospovidone is an inert and insoluble white to light yellow free-flowing powder. It has hygroscopic, or water-attracting properties with excellent swelling characteristics. It is this swelling characteristic that makes it useful as a disintegrant in pharmaceutical dosage forms.^[1] Crospovidone is not absorbed orally. Oral use of crospovidone is not usually associated with toxicity in normal use as a pharmaceutical excipient. Pulmonary emboli have been reported in autopsies of intravenous drug abusers who have crushed tablets, such as hydromorphone, for injection. The long-term effects of crospovidone in the lung are unknown.^[2] Allergic reactions have also been reported with the use of povidone-iodine (Betadine®) as a topical antiseptic.