Table of Contents: 2022 SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER No. 448
NLM’s Drug and Chemical Resources: A Quick Reference. NLM Tech Bull. 2022 Sep-Oct;(448):e6
If you assist consumers, healthcare providers, researchers, or pharmaceutical industry professionals with locating drug and chemical information, then you recognize their unique needs. Consumers may ask for a list of easy-to-understand side effects of an over-the-counter (OTC) drug, preferably written in Spanish. A provider may want to review the indications of a new drug therapy. Researchers may request help finding drug-gene interaction data to download and use in their study. Industry professionals may be searching for a drug's ingredient list.
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) provides multiple free online resources with drug and chemical information. The table below provides information on the content, intended audience, and sources of NLM drug and chemical resources.
| NLM Resource | Content | Intended Audience | Sources |
| MedlinePlus Drugs, Herbs and Supplements | Reliable easy-to-understand information, available in both English and Spanish | Consumers and providers |
Drug and OTC medications: Licensed content from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Herbs and Supplements: Licensed content from the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database Consumer Version |
| DailyMed | U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeling for prescription drugs, OTC medicines, medical foods, and supplements | Providers and industry professionals |
Labeling submitted to the FDA by companies and “in use” |
| LiverTox (via Bookshelf) | Comprehensive and clinical information about drug-induced liver injury, or hepatotoxicity | Providers |
Peer-reviewed literature in consultation with an external expert review committee Learn more about the LiverTox external expert review committee |
| LactMed (via Bookshelf) | Information on drugs and chemicals to which lactating people and nursing infants may be exposed | Providers |
Peer-reviewed literature in consultation with specialty reviewers |
| PubChem | Large-scale chemistry database with comprehensive information on chemicals, including molecular structures, properties, bioactivities, and many others | Researchers |
Government agencies, chemical vendors, journal publishers, and other data contributors |
| RxNorm | A normalized naming system for prescription and OTC medications, and a tool for facilitating the interoperability of drug terminologies and pharmacy knowledge base systems | Industry professionals and researchers |
Other terminologies, such as DrugBank, Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), and FDA Structured Product Labels |
| Toxicology Reviews (via Bookshelf) | Full-text toxicology reviews, assessments, and technical reports from various HHS and international agencies, including the National Toxicology Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, International Agency for Research on Cancer, and Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment | Researchers |
Peer-reviewed reviews, assessments, technical reports, and reference documents from government agencies and international organizations |
For an in-depth introduction to NLM's drug and chemical products, enroll in the free Drug and Chemical Information - On Demand class and earn up to 6 Medical Library Association Continuing Education (MLA CE) credits (CHIS Level 1). Browse all NLM drug and chemical product trainings and guides in the NLM Learning Resources Database.
Read the related article "ChemIDplus and the Drug Information Portal Content Available From PubChem Only Starting December 2022."
