Is aspirin gluten-free?
Looks mostly clean — worth verifying with the maker. Mostly yes — but worth a quick call to the manufacturer for some generics. Of 13 product labels we checked, 9 are clean, 3 are confirmed gluten-free by the maker, and 1 contain an inactive ingredient (typically a source-ambiguous starch) whose botanical origin isn't fully disclosed. None contained confirmed gluten.
Drug context
About aspirin
Aspirin is an NSAID used for pain, fever, inflammation, and low-dose cardiovascular prevention, sold under brand names including Bayer, Bufferin.
Why this matters
Different manufacturers, different ingredients
Generics of aspirin use the same active ingredient, but they aren't required to use the same inactive ingredients. Your pharmacy may switch which manufacturer they dispense between fills, sometimes without telling you. The list below shows each manufacturer's product label as a separate entry, because that's the granularity that actually matters when you're celiac.
The labels
The 13 we checked
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01Leiner manufacturer-attested gluten-free
Listed gluten-free in Plogsted Alpha List (2017-04-28)
View source label → -
02Watson manufacturer-attested gluten-free
Listed gluten-free in Plogsted Alpha List (2017-04-28)
View source label → -
03Perrigo manufacturer-attested gluten-free
Listed gluten-free in Plogsted Alpha List (2017-04-28)
View source label → -
04Westminster Pharmaceuticals, LLC worth a call to confirm
Worth a call to the maker: SODIUM STARCH GLYCOLATE TYPE A
Inactive ingredients D&C YELLOW NO. 10 ALUMINUM LAKE · FD&C BLUE NO. 1 · FD&C BLUE NO. 2 · FD&C RED NO. 40 · FERRIC OXIDE YELLOW · FERROSOFERRIC OXIDE · GELATIN, UNSPECIFIED · LACTOSE MONOHYDRATE · PROPYLENE GLYCOL · SHELLAC · SODIUM STARCH GLYCOLATE TYPE A · STARCH, CORN · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label → -
05Topco Associates, LLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients DIMETHICONE · FD&C RED NO. 40 · FD&C YELLOW NO. 6 · HYPROMELLOSE, UNSPECIFIED · METHACRYLIC ACID · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POLYDEXTROSE · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL, UNSPECIFIED · SHELLAC · SILICON DIOXIDE · SODIUM BICARBONATE · SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE · STARCH, CORN · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE · TRIACETIN · TRIETHYL CITRATE · WATER
View source label → -
06Wal-Mart Stores Inc nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients D&C YELLOW NO. 10 · DIMETHICONE · FD&C YELLOW NO. 6 · HYPROMELLOSE, UNSPECIFIED · METHACRYLIC ACID · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POLYDEXTROSE · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL, UNSPECIFIED · SHELLAC · SILICON DIOXIDE · SODIUM BICARBONATE · SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE · STARCH, CORN · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE · TRIACETIN · TRIETHYL CITRATE · WATER
View source label → -
07Valu Merchandisers Company nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients D&C RED NO. 27 ALUMINUM LAKE · D&C RED NO. 30 ALUMINUM LAKE · DEXTROSE MONOHYDRATE · MALTODEXTRIN · STARCH, CORN · SUCRALOSE
View source label → -
08DOLGENCORP, LLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients D&C YELLOW NO. 10 · DIMETHICONE · FD&C YELLOW NO. 6 · HYPROMELLOSE, UNSPECIFIED · METHACRYLIC ACID · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POLYDEXTROSE · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL, UNSPECIFIED · SHELLAC · SILICON DIOXIDE · SODIUM BICARBONATE · SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE · STARCH, CORN · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE · TRIACETIN · TRIETHYL CITRATE · WATER
View source label → -
09Chain Drug Marketing Association, Inc. nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients HYPROMELLOSE, UNSPECIFIED · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL, UNSPECIFIED · PROPYLENE GLYCOL · STARCH, CORN
View source label → -
10Pharbest Pharmaceuticals, Inc. nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CELLULOSE, MICROCRYSTALLINE · CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · D&C YELLOW NO. 10 · FD&C YELLOW NO. 6 · HYPROMELLOSE, UNSPECIFIED · METHACRYLIC ACID - ETHYL ACRYLATE COPOLYMER (1:2) · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL, UNSPECIFIED · SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE · STARCH, CORN · STEARIC ACID · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label → -
11Amerisource Bergen nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CROSPOVIDONE, UNSPECIFIED · HYPROMELLOSE, UNSPECIFIED · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POVIDONE, UNSPECIFIED · PROPYLENE GLYCOL · SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE · SODIUM STARCH GLYCOLATE TYPE A POTATO · STARCH, CORN · STEARIC ACID · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label → -
12Better Living Brands, LLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients HYPROMELLOSE, UNSPECIFIED · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL, UNSPECIFIED · PROPYLENE GLYCOL · STARCH, CORN
View source label → -
13HyVee Inc nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CARNAUBA WAX · CROSPOVIDONE, UNSPECIFIED · FD&C BLUE NO. 1 ALUMINUM LAKE · HYPROMELLOSE, UNSPECIFIED · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POVIDONE, UNSPECIFIED · PROPYLENE GLYCOL · SACCHARIN SODIUM · STEARIC ACID · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label →
Try it live
Or screen aspirin right now
DailyMed updates daily and we have ~76 drugs in our static landing pages — for everything else, the live search is faster.
Background
What “gluten in a medication” actually means
Gluten enters drugs through their excipients — the inactive ingredients used to bind, coat, fill, or stabilize the dose. The main concern is wheat starch as a filler. Source-ambiguous starches (plain “starch”, pregelatinized starch, sodium starch glycolate, modified starch) get flagged for verification because their botanical origin isn't always disclosed on the label.
The 2024 Mangione et al. pediatric NDC analysis (689 NDCs across the top 100 pediatric medications) found 1.5% contained gluten outright; another 25.7% couldn't be confirmed either way. Liquid and oral-suspension formulations carry disproportionate risk because wheat starch is a common thickener. Full methodology →
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