1978 Volume 98 Issue 10 Pages 1305-1310
The disintegration and dissolution behavior of tablets containing berberine chloride dihydrate or tetrahydrate were investigated. The disintegration time of the dihydrate tablet and tetrahydrate tablet was 30 and 4 min, respectively, and the dissolution rate of berberine chloride from the former was much slower than that from the latter. The reason for this difference was considered and the following conclusion was obtained. When dihydrate was transformed to tetrahydrate in water, the fine crystals of tetrahydrate grew on the crystal surface and network structure was formed between crystals, resulting in the decreased the penetration rate of water into the tablet and inhibition of the release of particles from the tablet into water. Consequently, disintegration time of the tablet increased and dissolution rate of berberine chloride decreased. Under storage at 20°and relative humidity of 75%, dihydrate in the tablet was transformed to tetrahydrate, and the disintegration time of the tablet decreased. At 50°, tetrahydrate in the tablet was transformed to dihydrate, and the disintegration time of the tablet increased.
