QUALITY AND BIOAVAILABILITY OF TETRACYCLINE CAPSULES IN A NIGERIAN SEMIURBAN COMMUNITY

Six batches of tetracycline capsules were purchased from different dis pensing points in Ile-Ife, a Nigerian semi-urban town and subjected to weight uniformity tests, microbiological assay and chromatographic de termination of degradation products. Four of them were also subjected to dissolution tests and a comparative bioavailability study. A batch of capsules obtained from the local manufacturer of the innovators pro duct was used as the reference standard. From this study, it is appare nt that the tetracycline capsules available in this locality are of po or pharmaceutical quality. This has led to poor relative availability and may have made some contribution to the high level of tetracycline resistance in the sample environment.