Quality Control Studies on Conventional Carbamazepine Tablets Available on the Turkish Drug Market

Carbamazepine (CBZ) is a widely used antiepileptic drug. It is used to control grandmal seizure as well as in the treatmentof neuralgia. The drug is characterised by slow and irregular gastrointestinal absorption due to its low water solubility. In clinics,for conventional dosage forms of CBZ, single daily dosing is insufficient; effective CBZ level is provided by multiple drugadministration. Multiplicity of dosage causes inconsistent plasma CBZ levels leading to side effects because of narrow therapeuticand toxic levels.In this study, quality controls of different conventional CBZ tablets which are commercially available on the Turkish drug marketwere examined. Quality control parameters were weight variations, diameter and thickness, content uniformity, friability anddissolution tests. Differences between conventional CBZ tablets were evaluated.