Effects of Ketoprofen Tape Products on Carrageenan Induced Paw Edema

Abstract

Differences in the anti-inflammatory effects induced by brand-name and generic ketoprofen tapes have not yet been examined. The aim of the present study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of 9 ketoprofen tapes on rat carrageenan-induced paw edema and also determine the amount of ketoprofen released from these tapes. The suppression of carrageenan-induced paw edema more than 3 hours after the tapes had been applied was significantly stronger with the 4 ketoprofen tapes tested than with the control. The brand-name product released the highest amount of ketoprofen 3 hours after the tapes had been applied. The amount of ketoprofen released from the brand-name product was higher than that by 4 out of the 8 generic products tested. Furthermore, a correlation was found between anti-inflammatory effects and the amount of ketoprofen released 3 hours after applying the ketoprofen tapes (r = 0.552). Thus, the biological equivalents of generic products should be considered because the anti-inflammatory effects and amount of ketoprofen released differed between the brand-name and generic ketoprofen tapes.