IN VITRO QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF FIVE BRANDS OF LOW DOSE ASPIRIN TABLETS MARKETED IN ENUGU, NIGERIA

Nkemakolam Nwachukwu* and Jacinta Chizoba Okafor

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the quality of low dose aspirin (acetyl salicylic acid) tablets marketed in Enugu, Nigeria. Five brands of low dose aspirin 75 mg and 81 mg (coded LDA-A, LDA-B, LDA-C, LDA-D and LDA-E) were purchased from different retail pharmacies within Enugu. Each of the brands was evaluated for wholesomeness of both the packaging materials and tablets, organoleptic, mechanical properties, disintegration time, content of active ingredient, and dissolution profile using standard methods. The results reveal that all the containers were intact and properly labelled while the weight of the tablets ranged from 0.108 ± 1.852 - 0.273 g ± 0.703 %, crushing strength (1.58 ± 0.333 – 6.57 ± 0.453 kgF), friabilities were ≤ 1 % (except brand LDA-D), disintegration time (< 15 min), content of active ingredient (95.672 ± 0.571- 98.177 ± 0.215 %) and dissolution (> 80 %) within 30 min. All the brands met the British Pharmacopoeia specifications for uniformity of weight, content of active ingredient and dissolution. Only batches LDA-A and LDA-E passed the crushing strength test. In conclusion, all the brands of low dose aspirin contained the labelled amounts and had good dissolution but only samples LDA-A and LDA-E were of good mechanical strength. Besides the challenge of possible loss of the physical integrity of the tablets during transportation and handling, all the brands of low dose aspirin tablets were of good quality and would be therapeutically beneficial to the consumers.

Keywords: Low dose, aspirin, tablets, quality, assessment, British Pharmacopoeia.