 AST-120 is manufactured by Kureha Corporation, Japan. The agent was approved in Japan in 1991 for the treatment of patients with chronic kidney diseaseCKD. It is comprised of highly adsorptive, porous, spherical carbon particles and is packaged in 2 g sachets for oral administration designed for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. AST-120 consists of black microspheres approximately 0.2-0.4 mm in diameter with high adsorption ability and large surface area. Composed mainly of carbon approximately 96, the clinical utility of AST-120 is thought to reside in its ability to adsorb small molecular weight toxins, inflammatory mediators, and harmful bile acid products from the gastrointestinal tract, preventing local toxicity and their systemic absorption. AST-120 has a selective adsorption profile for certain acidic and basic organic compounds, and has a significantly lower adsorptive capacity than activated charcoal for digestive enzymes. 