IDENTIFICATION OF THE MEBENDAZOLE POLYMORPHIC FORM PRESENT IN RAW-MATERIALS AND TABLETS AVAILABLE IN SOUTH-AFRICA

A preformulation study of four different raw materials of mebendazole showed that three samples were polymorph C and the other polymorph A, or a mixture of form A and B. X-ray powder diffractometry and infrared spectroscopy indicated that this powder could be form B, but powder d issolution, for which a much slower dissolution was obtained, suggests polymorph A. Literature prescribes the use of polymorph C pharmaceuti cally, but generic manufacturers should be aware that forms other than C are still available on the market. The four mebendazole tablets cur rently available in South Africa were also tested and it was found tha t all of them contained polymorph C.