Design and evaluation of the fast dissolving tablet of terbutaline sulfate

Asthma is an inflammatory disorder that results in the obstruction of air pathways and causes difficulty in breathing. Oral dosage forms associated with lag time and delayed onset of action are among the available means of treatment. However, aerosols and parenterals have a rapid onset of action but strongly affect the patient compliance. Thus, an attempt was made to improve the onset of action of bronchodilator used commonly in the treatment of asthma. Fast dissolving tablets of terbutaline sulfate were prepared by the direct compression method after incorporating superdisintegrants such as Explotab, Ac-Di-Sol and Polyplasdone XL in different concentrations. The prepared tablets were evaluated for weight variation, thickness, hardness, friability, wetting time, drug content, water absorption ratio, in vitro dispersion time, in vitro disintegration time and in vitro drug release. Among all, the formulation F9 (containing 5% w/w concentration of Polyplasdone XL) was considered to be the best formulation, which releases up to 99.33% of the drug in 10 min.