COMPARATIVE STUDY OF FOUR DIFFERENT BRANDS OF CAPTOPRIL AVAILABLE IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Captopril is the first orally active and specific inhibitor of angiotensin-converting enzyme. It blocks conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II by inhibiting the angiotensin converting enzyme and used for hyper tension as a potent vasodilator. Captopril is used to lower hyper tension and available in several brands in the market. The aim of this study is to establish pharmaceutical equivalence among the brands available in Karachi, Pakistan. Four different brands of captopril tablets (25 mg) were included in study. Six quality control parameters: weight variation test, hardness test, thickness, friability, disintegration test and dissolution test were carried out specified by British and United state Pharmacopoeia BP/USP. Hardness value requirement was complied by all brands. Disintegration time for all brands was within 15 minutes complying the BP/USP standards. All brands of captopril showed more than 80 % drug release within forty five 45 minutes. The study suggests that almost all the brands of captopril are available in Karachi meet the specification for quality control analysis.