Transino EX: What Changed from II, Uses, Dose and Safety

Information checked: October 7, 2026 | Japanese-market product | 繁體中文

Your family’s shopping list says Transino II, but the Japanese drugstore shelf says EX. Here is the useful starting point: Transino EX is an oral medicine specifically for melasma. White C Clear and Premium have different uses. The words EX and Premium do not form a simple ranking of skin-lightening strength.

I’m Irene, a pharmacist working in Japan, originally from Taiwan.
For this shelf, start with the type of pigmentation, then the product name. Let’s find the current box and make sense of both the treatment and the break.

Recognise this box: EX is for melasma

トランシーノEX
Transino EX | Japanese Class 1 OTC medicine

Match the full name トランシーノEX and the word 肝斑（かんぱん）, meaning melasma. The TRANSINO brand name alone is not enough.

EX contains tranexamic acid (トラネキサム酸). Its approved indication is pigmentation limited to melasma. Receive the pharmacist’s explanation and read the leaflet supplied with your medicine.

Do not use under age 15 or while receiving dialysis. Clotting risks, pregnancy, breastfeeding and age 55 or over require a pre-use check; see the safety section below.

What if the patches look like melasma?

Typical clues include roughly symmetrical, light-brown patches around the cheekbones with blurred edges. Other pigmentation can look similar, so these are clues, not a diagnostic test. See a dermatologist if you are unsure, or if a lesion is dark, uneven in colour or raised.

Shopping for someone else? First establish whether they mean melasma medicine EX or a White C product. Their age, medicines and relevant medical history matter too; an old package photo alone cannot tell you whether EX is suitable.

What changed from Transino II to EX?

The manufacturer lists Transino II (トランシーノⅡ) as discontinued from production in February 2024. Its reformulated successor, EX, launched on March 8, 2024. A production-end date does not mean every shop sold its last pack that day, or that an older box is automatically counterfeit.

The key formula change is the addition of nicotinamide, also called niacinamide (ニコチン酸アミド), a B vitamin: 40 mg in the daily four-tablet dose. The manufacturer’s description of an enhanced formula refers to adding this ingredient to II. It does not establish that everyone will improve faster or that EX treats every kind of pigmentation.

Active ingredients per daily dose of four EX tablets:

• Tranexamic acid: 750 mg
• L-cysteine: 240 mg
• Ascorbic acid (vitamin C): 300 mg
• Pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6): 6 mg
• Calcium pantothenate: 24 mg
• Nicotinamide: 40 mg

You do not need to memorise all six. At the shelf, remember melasma, the full EX name, and possible overlap with other medicines. The list is here for checking, rather than ranking products by the biggest number.

How to take EX, and when to take a break

Push each tablet out of its blister before swallowing; never swallow the packaging. Follow the labelled dose without increasing it. The current EX instructions give these timing rules:

• About one month: the manufacturer’s guide for assessing the effect, not a promise of improvement. It does not mean everyone must finish a full two-month course regardless of circumstances.
• No more than two months continuously: even if it helps, do not extend treatment yourself. The manufacturer says evidence for effectiveness and safety beyond two months of continuous use is insufficient.
• Finish when symptoms improve: EX is not for prevention or ongoing beauty maintenance.
• If melasma returns after stopping: wait at least two months after stopping before restarting, and again do not exceed two months of continuous use. Check with a doctor or pharmacist again if your health or other medicines have changed.

Before taking EX: the checks that matter

Do not use, or do not combine

• Do not take EX if you are receiving dialysis.
• Do not take other oral medicines containing tranexamic acid while taking EX. Some cold medicines also contain it, so check the ingredients rather than the brand name alone.
• Do not combine EX with White C Clear or Premium. The same applies to vitamin-C combination medicines containing overlapping ingredients such as L-cysteine. Spacing them apart does not remove the overlap.

Consult a doctor or pharmacist before use if you:

• Are receiving treatment from a doctor or dentist
• Are pregnant, might be pregnant or are breastfeeding
• Are 55 or older, or have had an allergic reaction to a medicine or similar product
• Have thrombosis, such as cerebral thrombosis, a heart attack, thrombophlebitis or pulmonary embolism
• Have clotting risk factors: previous thrombosis, a family member with thrombosis, a diagnosed congenital clotting abnormality, or use of oral contraceptives, hormone-replacement therapy or other medicines associated with clotting risk
• Have been diagnosed with kidney disease

If any of these apply, explain your situation to a doctor or pharmacist before deciding whether to use EX.

Other symptoms that mean stopping

Stop immediately and consult a doctor or pharmacist with the leaflet if you develop a rash, redness, itching, nausea or vomiting, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, heartburn, palpitations, headache or dizziness after taking EX. Also stop and consult if diarrhoea persists or worsens.

Store away from sunlight, heat and moisture, out of children’s reach, and do not transfer it to another container. Do not swallow the activated-carbon sheet inside the inner bag. Do not use expired tablets; use promptly after opening the foil bag. Tell your doctor about this vitamin-C-containing medicine before urine or stool tests. Keep and read the complete official leaflet.

Six questions you might have at the shelf

A useful sentence for the pharmacy counter

「トランシーノEXについて、薬剤師さんに相談したいです。」
“I’d like to ask the pharmacist about Transino EX.” Match the full product name, then explain the type of pigmentation, your medicines and any relevant health conditions. That gives the pharmacist more useful information than asking which box is strongest.

For other product comparisons, see Transino White C Clear/Premium and the three Hythiol options. These links help distinguish the products; they are not a recommendation to combine them with EX.

Sources and photograph