Five people have been handed jail terms in Panama after a 2006 scandal in which hundreds of people died from a toxic cough syrup.

Officials say 400 people died after taking an unadulterated cough syrup which contained a toxic compound found in antifreeze.

The syrup, distributed by the Panamanian health agency, used an ingredient supplied by private company Medicom, labeled 'TD glycerin', which had been purchased from a Spanish pharmaceutical company.

In fact, the ingredient, which had been originally sourced from China, contained high amounts of poisonous diethylene glycol, an odourless liquid used as a solvent in antifreeze and brake fluid.

Some Panamanian organisations have claimed the medicine may have caused as many as 10,000 deaths.


Image: A victim of poisoning shows a set of X-rays

The scandal shocked the small central American nation and resulted in investigations in Panama, Spain and China.

After years of investigation, five people were sentenced on Friday, with Medicom's legal representative Angel Ariel de la Cruz Soto, handed five years in prison and fined $6,000.

Four other people were given one-year terms.

Six others were acquitted.