Partition of atenolol and propranolol tablets and its possible implication in their therapeutic effect

Abstract

A medicament is defined as a pharmaceutical product that is obtained or prepared technologically. It should contain one or more active ingredients with other substances with prophylactic, curative, palliative or diagnostic purposes. The pharmaceutical dosage form of oral tablets is relevant given the advantages it presents. The drugs are produced in pre-established doses, doses that are patterns of each pharmaceutical company and may not meet the needs of all patients. There is still a need to reduce the cost or achieve lower dosages that are sometimes found not commercially available and therefore, frequently some patients are instructed to cut the tablets. ANVISA reports that the practice of tablets partition in half is harmful to the patient, especially if the tablet has some special kinds of releasing its contents, in a given period or location in the body, before dissolving completely or whether they have coatings. This work aims to analyze the partition of propranolol and atenolol tablets, and if the process of partition can influence in the uniformity of the drug between the haves obtained after splitting using the employment tablet cutters. These tablets Propranolol 40mg and Atenolol 50mg were chosen due to their common use to control blood pressure. The assay methodology of these active ingredients has been adapted from Brazilian Pharmacopoeia (1988) using spectrophotometry. The results showed that there was a variation in the dosage of atenolol tablets parties from 70-142% and for propranolol half tablets the variation was obtained around 90 and 112% of the half dosage. Propranolol data may have been better since these tablets have a facilitator who is the divisor groove. The data indicate that the partition tablets should not be encouraged because it can lead to loss of efficacy in the treatment.

Keywords

• tablets, partition, atenolol, propranolol