Quality control of commercially produced paracetamol tablets marketed in Nsukka; Enugu State

Abstract

Some brands of paracetamols tablets marketed in Nsukka, Enugu State were evaluated in this study. The tablet qualities investigated include uniformity of tablet weight, hardness, friability, assay of active ingredient, tablet dimensions (thickness and diameter), disintegration time and dissolution rates while the test methods used were BP standard or modification of the BP standard. The tablets evaluated were compared to the BP standards for paracetamol tablets. It was found that in terms of hardness of tablets, all the tablets had acceptable hardness as they ranged from 3.8 to 8.8 Kgf. For weight uniformity test; Nemel has more uniformity while Parakrics has least uniformity of weight. The friability test showed that Rico paracetamol has least friability with 0.031% and Cinnamol with highest friability percentage
(1.653%). In disintegration time test; M & B has least disintegration time of 0.56 mins, while Nemel has highest disintegration time of 9.15 mins. Data from this study should serve as a reference for the authentication of Cinnamol paracetamol tablets in Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria.