Five brands of film coated metronidazole 500 mg tablets have been evaluated using some quality control tests as uniformity of weight, friability, content uniformity, disintegration and dissolution with the aim to assess its quality. The results obtained have been discussed in some details using monograph in the United States Pharmacopeia (USP). The results were also subjected to statistical analysis. In particular, the dissolution test results where subjected to further tests to determine significance of ANOVA at (p < 0.05), the kinetic order of the drug release and the mechanism of reaction were investigated. The results revealed that the five brands included in the study complied with their quality control tests and showed good dissolution profile for the drug release.
Metronidazole (MNZ) is an antibiotic derived from synthetic nitroimidazole. Usually used to treat human diseases, including parasitic infections, trichomoniasis, trichomoniasis and amebiasis.
The antibacterial activity of metronidazole was accidentally discovered in 1962 when metronidazole cured patients with trichomonas vaginitis and bacterial gingivitis. However, it was not until the 1970s that metronidazole became popular for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-negative anaerobic bacteria such as Bacteroides or Clostridium gram-positive anaerobes.