A comparative study of hardness and friability of selected oral paracetamol tablet brands in Bangladesh

Abstract

Paracetamol is one of the most widely used over-the-counter analgesic and antipyretic drug in Bangladesh. Due to its extensive consumption, maintaining consistent tablet quality is essential to ensure therapeutic effectiveness and patient safety. This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the quality control parameters, specifically hardness and friability, of selected oral paracetamol tablet brands available in Bangladesh. A total of fifteen commercially available brands were collected and analyzed using standard in vitro quality control methods. The obtained results were statistically analyzed using one- way ANOVA to assess significant differences among brands and formulations. All tested brands complied with limits for friability and exhibited acceptable hardness values. Statistical analysis indicated no significant differences in hardness and friability between tablets of different doses of paracetamol and tablets with different drug combination (p > 0.05). These findings suggest that the evaluated brands demonstrate satisfactory mechanical integrity