Active ingredients refer to chemical components that have biological activity and can produce specific physiological effects or pharmacological effects in organisms. They are usually extracted and separated from natural substances (such as plants, animals, microorganisms and minerals) or obtained through artificial synthesis . Common active ingredients include flavonoids, polyphenols, alkaloids, terpenes, saponins, polysaccharides, vitamins and minerals.
Effective ingredients refer to single chemical components in natural medicines that have a clear therapeutic or preventive effect on a certain disease. They usually have a certain molecular composition and structure and have certain physical and chemical constants.
Active ingredients refer to ingredients with biological activity, including but not limited to Effective ingredients.
For example, the main component of rhubarb laxative is bound anthraquinone, and its free anthraquinone has a weak laxative effect, but has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, while rhubarb tannin is an astringent and antidiarrheal component.
For the laxative effect, bound anthraquinone is the active ingredient, tannin is the active ingredient but not the effective ingredient (and has the opposite effect of the therapeutic purpose - antidiarrhea); for the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, free anthraquinone is the active ingredient, tannin is the active ingredient but not the effective ingredient, and bound anthraquinone will produce the side effect of "laxative" which is not conducive to the therapeutic purpose, and can be considered a toxic ingredient, but it is also an active ingredient.