ORAL POWDERS

Andi Nafisah, S.Farm.,M.Sc

 ORAL POWDERS CONSIST OF
Individual unit dose
Bulk oral powders
powders
The dosage problemis The patients divide the
overcome by providing dosage by their
the patient with a set of ownselves
separate doses, each of
which has been
individually wrapped.
BULK ORAL
POWDERS
 The advantages of bulk oral powders as
pharmaceutical products are that:
Dry powders may be more stable than their
liquid equivalent
Large doses of bulky powders may be
administered with relative ease (e.g. indigestion
powders)
Absorption from the gastrointestinal tract will be
quicker than with capsules or tablets.
Powders are useful for administration to children
who cannot swallow tablets.
The disadvantages of bulk oral powders as
pharmaceutical products are that:
The accuracy of dosage is not
guaranteed,therefore it is not a suitable
dosage form for potent medication
The large size container means that they
may be inconvenient to carry
It is difficult to mask any unpleasant taste.
INDIVIDUAL UNIT
DOSE POWDERS
 The weight should be 200 mg because:

200mg can be weighed on a Class II balance (or

electronic equivalent) (i.e. 200mg is greater than
the minimum weighable quantity of the balance)
200mg is an easy figure to use in pharmaceutical
calculations (it is easy to undertake calculations
using multiples or divisions of 200)
200mg is the amount of powder that will fit into a
size 3 capsule and, for ease, it would make sense to
use the same calculations for both powders and
capsules
HOW TO USE?....
They may be taken by pouring onto the
back of the tongue and swallowing, or
alternatively theymay be added to a small
amount of water and swallowed.
 The advantages of unit dose powders as The disadvantages of unit dose powders as
pharmaceutical products are as follows: phar maceutical products are as follows:
They show greater stability than liquid They may be difficult to swallow.
dosage forms as the rate of reaction between Unpleasant flavours, bitter or nauseous, are
drugs in adosage form in atmospheric difficult to mask when in powder form.
conditions is slower than the rate of reaction
in a liquid medium.
Accurate dosage is possible.
They are easy to administer. Powders are
relatively easy to swallow and may be mixed
with food or drink in order to assist
administration.
The small particle size leads to more rapid
absorption from the gastrointestinal tract
compared with tablets. This in turn leads to
reduced local irritation of the gastrointestinal
tract which may be caused by local
concentration of a drug, as encountered
when taking an equivalent tablet.
They are well accepted by patients,
attractive to patients and convenient to carry.
CALCULATIONS FOR
POWDERS
There are two main calculations for powders,
the choice being dependent on the quantity of
active ingredient to be incorporated into each
powder and the total number of unit doses (or
excess) to be made. The two different
calculations are termed single dilution and
double dilution (or serial dilution).
SINGLE DILUTION
Write out the formula for one powder based on a final weighing of 200 mg.
Then write out the formula for the total number of powders.
Remember to always make an excess.
EXAMPLE...

So long as the final quantities to be weighed are above the minimum

weighable quantity of the balance, single dilution can be used. In this
case, 250mg is the smallest amount to be weighed. This is greater than
the mini mum weighable quantity of the balance and so single dilution
will be suitable. If, however, the amount of active ingredient to be
weighed is below the minimum weighable quantity of the balance,
double dilution must be used.
DOUBLE DILUTION (SERIAL
DILUTION)
When dosages of very potent drugs are required, the active ingredient will be
present in very low concentrations.
clumping of the active ingredient, which could have potentially
fatalconsequences for the patient
EXAMPLE...