Abstracts

THE IN VITRO EVALUATION OF A SODIUM POLY-HYDROXYALUMINIUM MONOCARBONATE HEXITOL COMPLEX AS A GASTRIC ANTACID

Techniques for assessing antacid activity are discussed. The commonly used antacids have been evaluated using two complementary in vitro techniques and appraised using as criteria the properties considered to describe the ideal antacid. In confirmation with previous workers most of the substances tested were shown not to meet the optimum requirements. In particular the results confirmed the loss of activity of aluminium hydroxide gel preparations on drying and their variation in neutralising capacity. A new substance, a sodium polyhydroxy-aluminium monocarbonate hexitol complex, which is a white tasteless odourless powder, compared favourably with the best of the established preparations tested—a liquid aluminium hydroxide gel and was the only solid meeting the suggested criteria.