In Vitro Release Properties of Caffeine. II. Effect of Type of Petrolatum and Sodium Benzoate

Petrolatum is widely used for the preparation of topically applied pharmaceutical forms, like ointments. The physico -chemical characteristics of petrolatum largely depends on the source of crude petrolatum which is obtained.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether any difference exists in release characteristics of two different batches of petrolatum, named as A and B, and to look into the effect of sodium benzoate as a complexing agent on the release properties of caffeine from petrolatum and PEG bases. It is found that the released amount of caffeine from both petrolatums for each concentration is significantly different. It is also established that the use of sodium benzoate increased the released amount of caffeine from petrolatum and PEG bases significantly