Release Kinetics and Availability of Mebeverine Hydrochloride from Polycarbophil Loaded by Swelling

The release rate and mechanism of release of mebeverine hydrochloride were studied for commercial “Duspatalin” tablets and for different tablet formulations (F₁, F₂ & F₃) containing 20, 40 and 65% polycarbophil, respectively. The formulated granules were obtained by freeze drying of polycarbophil granules loaded with aqueous solution of the drug at 25°C by swelling of the polymer. The release of mebeverine hydrochloride from prepared tablet formulations was faster than that of Duspatalin tablets. The release rate of the drug increased as the polycarbophil content of the tablets increased. The calculated correlation coefficients for the release data fitted to various models showed that the release from Duspatalin tablets and F₂ follow first order kinetics, while release of F₁ approaches that of zero order. The release mechanism from F₃ could not be determined. DSC thermograms showed that there is an interaction between the drug and the polymer in aqueous medium, but not in the solid state.

The in-vivo guinea-pig studies revealed that mebeverine hydrochloride was released and absorbed from the tested formula (F₃), depressed the agonists-induced contractions 2 hrs after treatment but not after 4 hrs indicating rapid absorption and metabolism. The percentage inhibitions ranged from 40–85%. The treatment seems to antagonise barium chloride (BaCl₂)-induced contractions more than those induced by carbochol.