Revista de investigación sobre farmacia y administración de medicamentos

Comparative Studies of Different Brands of Metformin Hydrochloride Tablets in Local Market of Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Wajeeha Khalid, Muhsin Jamal, Tahir Aqeel Malik and Shoaib Sarwar

Metformin hydrochloride is an anti-diabetic medicine that is used to improve blood sugar control in people with type II diabetes. There are several generics of metformin hydrochloride tablets available within the drug delivery system. Availability of numerous brands of metformin hydrochloride tablets in drug market today places health practitioners in a puzzle of generic substitution. Counterfeit, substandard and spurious “medicines” can increase risk of the drug resistance, cause economic loss for patients, health systems and pharmaceutical industries that can lead to morbidity and mortality rates. The aim of study was to assess and analyze the quality and standard of available brands of metformin hydrochloride (HCl) and to relate the results with United States Pharmacopeia (USP) standards. Five different brands of metformin-HCl tablets including both local and multinational brands that are commercially available in the market of Rawalpindi, Pakistan were subjected to comparative analysis according to the USP. The overall quality of brands was analyzed by subjecting to different pharmacopoeias and nonpharmacopoeias tests. The obtained results indicated that all of the examined products were in accordance with the pharmacopoeias specifications but the physical appearance of sample B5 (Metadox) was not acceptable.