4. Conclusion
Dissolution profiling showed that, pitaya, pineapple, mango and
guava powder effervescent tablet was dissolved faster in simulated
saliva rather than water. In both mediums, pitaya and pineapple
powder effervescent tablets showed the lowest total dissolution
time. However, their dissolution profile was different from each
other. In water, initially a lesser amount of solute release/dissolution of tablet was occurred. On the other hand, for simulated saliva
the dissolution medium temperature influenced to initiate the reaction of effervescent agent and penetrate medium into the tablet.
So, the dissolution profile in simulated saliva demonstrates that the
major part of the tablet was dissolved within very short time after
putting the tablet into the medium. However, due to dissolution
medium saturation and reduced amount of solute, dissolution rate
became low with increasing time. From the results of dissolution
profile comparison, it was observed that different methods gave
different results regarding the similarity of dissolution profiles. In
model dependent method, all the dissolution data point was
analyzed at a same time and output was presented as model fitting
tool. According to the model dependent method, only the pitaya
powder tablet showed a difference in dissolution profile from other
three types of fruit powder tablets, while pineapple, guava, and
mango powder dissolution profile showed similarity. To compare
dissolution profiles of fruit powder tablets according to model independent method similarity factor and difference factor was
determined and compared on a point basis. This demonstrates that
at most points, the dissolution profiles were similar and only few
points were not similar, thought their similarity percentage did not
reach 100%. Finally, using statistical method, a pairwise comparison
was carried out. The results showed by comparing the dissolution
profile at every time step, there is a significant difference observed
at most of the time steps through the dissolution profile of fruit
powder tablets. According to the dissolution profile, it is clear that
each type of fruit powder tablet has unique dissolution profile.
Dissolution profiles can be used as a standard for a large scale
production in terms of quality control and improvement in
formulation (i.e., addition of food additives and other vitamins and
minerals). In food processing industry, it can be very helpful for
monitoring and quality assurance during production by comparing
the dissolution profile of individual product with the standard
dissolution profile. Among the dissolution profile comparison
methods, the model dependent method is complicated and indirect, while the model independent method is easier to apply and
interpret. However, the model independent method has considered
wider range of value for profile comparison which describes the
closeness of the two dissolution profile. A statistical pairwise
comparison method is more discriminative than the other two
methods. Statistical methods may be used to analyze the all data
points and compare critically. It is therefore more informative and
useful for a dissolution profile comparison. The dissolution profile comparison results show the pros and cons of each method.
However, the selection of the best method for comparing the
dissolution profile and quality of tablet depends upon the nature
and importance of tablet and its ingredients.