title: Comparative pharmacokinetic and relative bioavailability study of coated and uncoated azithromycin powder for suspension in healthy Bangladeshi male volunteers.
abstract: Azithromycin (AZT; CAS 83905-01-5) is an efficient antibiotic and is widely prescribed in Bangladesh. The taste of uncoated AZT suspension is bitter. Although several taste masked oral suspensions of AZT are available in Bangladesh, information regarding the bioavailability of these formulations in Bangladeshi population is unavailable. The purpose of this study was to compare the relative bioavailability and other pharmacokinetic properties of two oral formulation of AZT (200 mg/5 ml) suspensions, the uncoated reference product and coated test product (Tridosil 200 mg/5 ml) and to evaluate whether these formulations meet the FDA criteria to assume bioequivalence in Bangladeshi male volunteers. A randomized, single-dose, two-way cross-over, open-label pharmacokinetic study was conducted in 24 healthy male volunteers after administration of a single dose of 500 mg AZT suspension under fasting condition following a washout period of three weeks. Blood samples were collected in different time intervals and analyzed for serum AZT concentration using a validated LC/MS/MS method. The pharmacokinetic parameters were determined by the non-compartmental method. From serum data, the obtained values for test and reference products were 383.21 +/- 11.59 and 432.28 +/- 7.22 ng/ ml for Cmax; 5677.47 +/- 1229.53 and 6144.56 +/- 1098.70 h x ng/ml for AUC(0-120); and 6085.29 +/- 1267.53 and 6694.15 +/- 1222.50 h x ng/ml for AUC(0-infinity), respectively. On analysis of variance, no period or sequence effects were observed for any pharmacokinetic property; however, a significant formulation effect was observed for Cmax and AUMC(0-infinity). The 90% confidence intervals of the test formulation/reference mean ratios of the Intransformed Cmax, AUC(0-120) and AUC(0-infinity) mean values were found to be 87.89% to 89.36%, 87.96% to 95.71% and 86.77% to 94.29% respectively. In this single-dose study of AZT, it was found that the test formulation met the regulatory criteria for bioequivalence to the reference suspension formulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Tasmin Ara
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Sultana
authors.forename: Mohammad Safiqul
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.forename: Nurul Huda
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Bhuiyan
authors.forename: Md Hasanuzzaman
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Shohag
authors.forename: Maizbha Uddin
authors.initials: MU
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: Sultana Rajia
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Naznin
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al Maruf
authors.forename: S M Imamul
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Huq
authors.forename: Abul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hasnat
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D019540:Area Under Curve; D017963:Azithromycin / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D001682:Biological Availability; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006207:Half-Life; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011208:Powders; D012015:Reference Standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013535:Suspensions; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D013649:Taste; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D011208:Powders; D013535:Suspensions; D017963:Azithromycin