Abstract
The kinetics of hydrolysis of meclofenoxate hydrochloride (MF-HCl) in commercial tablets were studied in comparison with those of the pure solid. MF-HCl in tablets was found to be decomposed by water vapor in the same way as the pure solid. At a humidity above the critical relative humidity (CRH) of the system, the degradation ratio, x could be correlated to time by the equation x=ktn where k and n are parameters. At humidities below the CRH, on the other hand, the degradation did not conform to this equation because of the fast decomposition at the initial stage. The stability of several commercial MF-HCl tablets was studied, and some excipients such as magnesium carbonate were found to reduce the stability of the drug.
