Pharmaceutical quality of antimalarial drugs: quinine sulfate and Artemether/Lumefantrine tablets sold on Bukavu Market

Abstract

Background: Generic antimalarial drugs sold in sub-Saharan Africa require tighter control as counterfeiting has grown more and more out of control. The study aimed to analyze the pharmaceutical quality of quinine sulfate (QS) and Artemether/Lumefantrine(AL) tablets marketed in Bukavu city compared to the current trends in other African cities. Results: The samples were purchased in community pharmacies or from ambulatory street vendors and analyzed using a set of thirteen simple tests, including visual inspection, UV spectrometry, TLC, and conventional quality control procedures. More than 93% of AL samples had an acceptable global quality score of > 90%. Around 16.6% of QS batches did not satisfy the requirements about hardness, friability, and mass uniformity. Only 33.3% met the disintegration quality; 33.3% did not contain quinine; 8.33% had an active ingredient other than quinine.