Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Advantages and disadvantages of effervescent tablets

Effervescent tablets are the most popular way of taking medication, it has some advantages and disadvantages compared to other methods, let's check it.

The effervescent tablet is an oral solid dosage form of medication that has particular characteristics that allow active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) to be rapidly absorbed. It is designed to dissolve while coming into contact with liquids or water, often causing the tablet to dissolve in the solution. These are the uncoated tablets and typically contain acidic substances and carbonates or hydrogen carbonates, which quickly respond to the release of carbon dioxide in the presence of water.
The effervescent tablets are larger than normal tablets which are produced and controlled the same as conventional tablets. These types of tablets are formulated by mixing drugs and excipients with a mixture of sodium bicarbonate and organic acids (citric and tartaric acid) which is controlled by the included physicochemical properties such as hardness, friability, solution time, weight variation, pH, and content uniformity.
Advantages of effervescent tablets:
  • The major advantage of effervescent tablets is that it is easily dissolved and exact doses can rapidly obtain to the patients.
  • Efficiency tablet is most useful for people suffering from dehydration, as it quickly rehydrates the body by releasing electrolytes.
  • Efficiency tablets may be more attractive to the consumer than traditional dosage forms.
  • It may formulate with a large amount of active ingredients as compared to the tablet and capsule dosage form.
  • An effervescent tablet does not have an issue of unpleasant taste and odor of the drug, since it masks the unpleasant taste characteristics of the drug and it is administered as a palatable sparkling solution.
  • Effervescent granules or tablets are useful for drugs that are not stable in a liquid dosage form.
  • As compared to the liquid dosage forms effervescent tablets are stable in atmospheric conditions.
  • It does not have a more complex manufacturing process as capsules and coated tablets.
  • Compared to other types of dosage forms, it performs a more gentle action on the stomach of the patient.
  • Conventional tablets dissolve slowly, but effervescent tablets completely and uniformly dissolve in the stomach.
  • It is a more suitable option for those who may have trouble swallowing tablets and capsules, particularly children and elderly patients.
Disadvantages of effervescent tablets:
  • The major disadvantage of the effervescent tablet is that it requires expensive excipients, a complex production process, specialist packaging materials, and the need for larger tablets.
  • It is not suitable for patients with heart failure or cardiac insufficiency since has a high amount of sodium or potassium.
  • It is an expensive product compared to conventional tablets because most of the materials used are relatively costly.
  • The active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) that have an unpleasant taste and smell can be difficult to formulate.
  • It requires a trained person, special packaging materials, and production facilities.
  • It is only intended for immediate release, not for sustained or controlled release.

Commonly asked questions on tablet dosage form are as follows.

What is the major disadvantage of chewable tablets?
The major disadvantage of chewable tablets is that it is difficult to formulate drugs having bitter.

What is the difference between modified release and extended-release tablets?
The major difference between modified release and extended-release tablets is that the modified-release tablets that deliver a drug over a long period, while extended-release tablets are formulated to release the drug slowly over time.

Mention one disadvantage of delayed-release tablets.
A high production cost is a major disadvantage of delayed-release tablets.

What are the advantages of the buccal or sublingual tablets?
The drugs are absorbed quickly and do not go through the digestive system. This is the major benefit of buccal or sublingual tablets.


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