Back to Journals » Drug Design, Development and Therapy » Volume 2

Comparative in vivo bioequivalence and in vitro dissolution of two valproic acid sustained-release formulations

Authors Fujii A, Yasui-Furukori N, Nakagami T, Niioka T, Saito M, Sato Y, Kaneko S

Published 11 August 2008 Volume 2008:2 Pages 139—144

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/DDDT.S3556

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 2



Akira Fujii1, Norio Yasui-Furukori1, Taku Nakagami1,3, Takenori Niioka4, Manabu Saito1,2, Yasushi Sato1,2, Sunao Kaneko1

1Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Japan; 2Department of Psychiatry, Hirosaki-Aiseikai Hospital, Hirosaki, Japan; 3Department of Neuropsychiatry, Ohdate City Hospital, Ohdate, Akita, Japan; 4Department of Pharmacy, Hirosaki University Hospital, Hirosaki, Japan

Objective: A study was conducted to establish the bioequivalence between different sustained-release formulations of valproic acid (Depakene R and Selenica R), which were developed in Japan.

Materials and methods: The clinical investigation was designed in a randomized, crossover fashion with a single dose given to 12 healthy subjects. The subjects were administered a single 600 mg dose of valproic acid in one of two formulations. Serial venous blood samples were obtained over 72 hours after each administration to measure valproic acid in serum by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). In addition, a dissolution test was performed. Each sample was analyzed by an high-performance liquid chromatography to determine the dissolution rate of valproic acid.

Results: No difference in maximum concentration or area under the curve was found between the two formulations. The time to maximum concentration of the new formation was significantly delayed compared with the conventional formulation (10.8 ± 1.7 versus 17.6 ± 1.8 hours, p < 0.001). Apparent clearance or elimination half-life did not differ between the two formulations. An in vitro dissolution study showed that Depakene R was significantly more dissoluble than Selenica R.

Conclusion: Based on the results, the present study demonstrated a significant difference between the two sustained-release formulations in the absorption profile, and also demonstrated that the bioavailability of valproic acid in the two formulations was similar but absorption speed (lag time) was very different.

Keywords: bioequivalence, sustained-release, valproic acid, Depakene R, Selenica R

Creative Commons License © 2008 The Author(s). This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License. By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.