Scintigraphic evaluation of floating, gastroretentive formulation of clarithramycin in healthy human volunteers

Full text: Objective of the present study concerns formulation and evaluation of oral buoyant effervescent tablets of clarithromycin for prolongation of gastric residence time (GRT) and to enhance eradication of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) for longer period of time. Materials and Methods: Clarithromycin (CLA) a macrolide antibiotic was chosen as the candidate drug for its immense potential as an Anti H. pylori agent. HPMC and/or xanthan gum were used as release-retarding polymer(s) whereas sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3 ) was utilized as a gas former. The tablets were prepared by wet granulation method. Formulations were evaluated for physicochemical properties, in vitro drug release as well as drug release kinetics and stability studies. In vivo gamma scintigraphic studies were assessed for the optimized buoyant gastroretentive tablets in six healthy human volunteers to study influence of nature of the dosage form i.e. conventional or sustained release gastroretentive tablets and the presence of food in the stomach on intragastric performance of gastroretentive tablets. Result: The fabricated tablets showed acceptable physiochemical properties. Non-fickian release transport was confirmed as the drug release mechanism from the prepared tablets. Optimized tablets composed of HPMC K15M, xanthan gum, and NaHCO3 were promising systems exhibiting excellent floating properties. The overall performance was found to be highly sustained. Scintigraphic imaging revealed GRT of 320 min or more in fed state on the other hand GRT of 180 min or less in case of unfed state. Conclusion: The developed gastroretentive system has potential to increase efficacy of the therapy and improve patient