Carbon dioxide is a colorless gas occurring naturally in Earth's atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a primary carbon source for life on Earth. It is produced by all aerobic organisms during metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids. Carbon dioxide is used in food industry as an acidity regulator and for production of carbonated soft drinks and soda water. In medicine, carbon dioxide is commonly used as an insufflation gas for minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopy, endoscopy, and arthroscopy) to enlarge and stabilize body cavities to provide better visibility of the surgical area. A mixture of carbon dioxide and oxygen is used for stimulation of breathing after apnea, in anesthetic procedures to increase the depth of respiration, to facilitate blind intubations in anesthetic practice.

Pentaerythritol tetranitrate is an organic nitrate that has been used for the treatment of angina pectoris. Upon administration, the drug undergoes exstensive metabolism to NO which causes vasodilation and the relaxation of smooth muscle cells. The compound belongs to a familiy of explosive substances and may be used accordingly.

Betaine is a methyl derivative of glycine first isolated from the juice of sugar beets. Betaine is found in many common foods, but concentrated significantly in beets, spinach, wheat foods, and shellfish. In addition, betaine can be synthesized within the human body. Betaine participates in the methionine cycle, which produces vital biomolecules including proteins, hormones, phospholipids, polyamines, and nutrients. Betaine is used as a dietary supplement and has a beneficial effect on the human health. In the USA, FDA approved a betaine-containing drug Cystadane for the treatment of homocystinuria. The drug acts as a methyl group donor in the remethylation of homocysteine to methionine.

Oxygen is a chemical element with atomic number 8. Diatomic oxygen constitutes 20.8% of the Earth's atmosphere. Diatomic oxygen is used by complex life forms such as animals, in cellular respiration. Medical oxygen is widely used in clinical practice to provide a basis for most modern anaesthetic techniques; to restore the tissue oxygen tension towards normal by improving oxygen availability in a wide range of conditions such as shock, severe haemorrhage, coronary occlusion, carbon monoxide poisoning, major trauma; to aid the resuscitation of the critically ill, when the circulation is impaired; to aid in neonatal resuscitation; to treat acute severe headache in adults diagnosed with cluster headache.

Alcohols exhibit rapid broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against vegetative bacteria (including mycobacteria), viruses, and fungi but are not sporicidal. They are, however, known to inhibit sporulation and spore germination, but this effect is reversible. Because of the lack of sporicidal activity, alcohols are not recommended for sterilization but are widely used for both hard-surface disinfection and skin antisepsis. Lower concentrations may also be used as preservatives and to potentiate the activity of other biocides. Many alcohol products include low levels of other biocides (in particular chlorhexidine), which remain on the skin following evaporation of the alcohol, or excipients (including emollients), which decrease the evaporation time of the alcohol and can significantly increase product efficacy. Ethanol in combination with: chlorhexidine gluconate 1% was approved to use in surgical hand antiseptic. It significantly reduces the number of microorganisms on the hands and forearms prior to surgery or patient care. Ethanol is also used as a co-solvent to dissolve many insoluble drugs and to serve as a mild sedative in some medicinal formulations. Ethanol is metabolized by the hepatic enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase. Ethanol affects the brain’s neurons in several ways. It alters their membranes as well as their ion channels, enzymes, and receptors. Alcohol also binds directly to the receptors for acetylcholine, serotonin, GABA, and the NMDA receptors for glutamate. The sedative effects of ethanol are mediated through binding to GABA receptors and glycine receptors (alpha 1 and alpha 2 subunits). It also inhibits NMDA receptor functioning. In its role as an anti-infective, ethanol acts as an osmolyte or dehydrating agent that disrupts the osmotic balance across cell membranes.

Silicon dioxide (silica) is most commonly found in nature as quartz, as well as in various living organisms. Silicon dioxide one of the most complex and most abundant families of materials, existing both as several minerals and being produced synthetically. In food and pharmaceutical industry silica is a common additive, where it is used primarily as a flow in powdered foods, or to adsorb water in hygroscopic application. In pharmaceutical products, silica aids powder flow when tablets are formed.

Caffeine is a methylxanthine alkaloid found in the seeds, nuts, or leaves of a number of plants native to South America and East Asia that is structurally related to adenosine and acts primarily as an adenosine receptor antagonist with psychotropic and anti-inflammatory activities. Upon ingestion, caffeine binds to adenosine receptors in the central nervous system (CNS), which inhibits adenosine binding. This inhibits the adenosine-mediated downregulation of CNS activity; thus, stimulating the activity of the medullary, vagal, vasomotor, and respiratory centers in the brain. The anti-inflammatory effects of caffeine are due the nonselective competitive inhibition of phosphodiesterases. Caffeine is used by mouth or rectally in combination with painkillers (such as aspirin and acetaminophen) and a chemical called ergotamine for treating migraineheadaches. It is also used with painkillers for simple headaches and preventing and treating headaches after epidural anesthesia. Caffeine creams are applied to the skin to reduce redness and itching in dermatitis. Healthcare providers sometimes give caffeine intravenously (by IV) for headache after epidural anesthesia, breathing problems in newborns, and to increase urine flow. In foods, caffeine is used as an ingredient in soft drinks, energy drinks, and other beverages.

Glycerin (glycerol) is 3-carbon alcohol naturally occurring in the human body. It is the structural backbone triacylglycerol molecules, and can also be converted to a glycolytic substrate for subsequent metabolism. Glycerin is a colorless, odorless, viscous, sweet-tasting liquid. The FDA classifies glycerol as "generally recognized as safe". Glycerin is used in the pharmaceutical industry as a sweetener in syrups, lozenges, and as an excipient in eyewash solutions. As an individual prescription product, glycerin has uses as a hyperosmotic, osmotic diuretic, and ophthalmic agent. It may be used as an eye drop in the treatment of glaucoma to reduce intraocular pressure, as a solution or suppository for short-term treatment of constipation, to evacuate the bowel prior to a colonoscopy, and in some ocular surgeries. It may be given intravenously to reduce pressure inside the brain and used externally on the skin as a moisturizer. Glycerin has many other uses in the agricultural, food and pharmaceutical industry.

Potash (Dihydroxyaluminum Sodium Carbonate), a component of Kompensan-S Forte in Germany, is a basic inorganic salt that acts by neutralizing hydrochloric acid in gastric secretions. Kompensan-S Forte is slowly solubilized in the stomach and reacts with hydrochloric acid to form aluminum chloride and water. It also inhibits the action of pepsin by increasing the pH and via adsorption. Cytoprotective effects may occur through increases in bicarbonate ion (HCO3-) and prostaglandins.