Pharmaceutical evaluation and comparison of different brands of metronidazole available in the local market of Peshawar (Pakistan)

摘要

Objective:To assess the pharmaceutical quality of different brands of metronidazole manufactured, available and prescribed by the doctors of Peshawar, Pakistan. Methods: Different film-coated metronidazole products manufactured by multinational and national pharmaceutical industries and prescribed by the doctors were collected from Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Their hysico-chemical properties were assessed, which included friability, hardness, disintegration, dissolution and weight variation tests according to the the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) standards. Results:All the brands showed a average weight of 5.74 g for 13 tablets (products A–M). Product J had the highest weight and products D and E failed the hardness, friability and disintegration time according toUSP standards. Products M, K and G, L failed disintegration test and dissolution test, respectively. Weight variation of all the products proved statistically that they were in accordance with the standards ofUSP. Conclusions:The study suggested that products A, F, H and J passed all the tests according to theUSP standards while the rest of them did not fulfill the standards specification.