Comparative in-vitro evaluation of different marketed formulations of cetirizine hcl tablets (10mg) available in local market

Five Indian brands (coded as A, B, C, D, E) of 10 mg cetirizine hydrochloride (CTZ) tablets were evaluated for various in-vitro parameters, i.e. size and shape, uniformity of weight, hardness, friability, disintegration time and dissolution profile. The hardness of all the brands was found to be in the range of 4.2-4.4 kg, while friability was less than 1 %. The disintegration time of all brands were found to be in the range of 52 sec to 9 min 21 sec. All brands comply with the I.P weight variation tests while brands A, B, C, D and E comply with the I.P dissolution test. Formulation additives in the tablet, physical form of the drug used in the tablet and manufacturing process vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, responsible for the variation in the observed dissolution profiles. The main purpose of the study was to minimize health risk factors while maximizing the safety of the people of Lucknow to maintain and improve their health. The study is concerned to investigate and compare the physicochemical equivalence and efficacy of different brands of tablets containing Cetirizine prepared by various pharmaceutical industries under different trade names.