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Despite its name, IU is not part of the International System of Units used in physics and chemistry.

For instance, one IU of vitamin E cannot be equated with one IU of vitamin A in any way, including mass or efficacy. Since the number of IUs contained in a new substance is arbitrarily set, there is no equivalence between IU measurements of different biological agents. To do so, the WHO Expert Committee on Biological Standardization provides a reference preparation of the agent, arbitrarily sets the number of IUs contained in that preparation, and specifies a biological procedure to compare other preparations of the same agent to the reference preparation. The goal of the IU is to be able to compare these, so that different forms or preparations with the same biological effect will contain the same number of IUs. vitamin A in the form of retinol or beta-carotene). Many biological agents exist in different forms or preparations (e.g.

International units are used to quantify vitamins, hormones, some medications, vaccines, blood products, and similar biologically active substances. International unit (IU) - In pharmacology, the international unit is a unit of measurement for the amount of a substance the mass or volume that constitutes one international unit varies based on which substance is being measured, and the variance is based on the biological activity or effect, for the purpose of easier comparison across substances.