HPLC analysis of ammonium glycyrrhizate listed in the European, United States, and Japanese Pharmacopoeias under reported and modified conditions: revision of the peak assignment for 18α-glycyrrhizin in the European and United States Pharmacopoeias

We examined ammonium glycyrrhizate listed in the monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia (EP) and United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) as well as in the reagents and solutions used in the general test of the Japanese Pharmacopoeia by performing HPLC on their sample standards or reference reagents under reported and modified conditions. Comparative experiments involving five authentic samples, namely, 18β-glycyrrhizin (1), 18α-glycyrrhizin (2), licorice-saponin G2 (3), licorice-saponin H2 (4), and galacturonic acid-replaced glycyrrhizin (the 4″-epimer of 18β-glycyrrhizin) (5), led us to propose the revision of the peak assignment of 18α-glycyrrhizin (2) and postscript a possible co-existence of galacturonic acid-replaced glycyrrhizin (5) as a hidden component in the EP and USP. We also proposed that the α-configuration used in the nomenclature of the glycosidic bond between aglycone and the sugar units of ammonium glycyrrhizate and impurities in the EP and USP should be revised to the β-configuration.

Application of in vitro biopharmaceutical methods in development of immediate release oral dosage forms intended for paediatric patients

Biopharmaceutics is routinely used in the design and development of medicines to generate science based evidence to predict in vivo performance; the application of this knowledge specifically to paediatric medicines development is yet to be explored. The aim of this review is to present the current status of available biopharmaceutical tools and tests including solubility, permeability and dissolution that may be appropriate for use in the development of immediate release oral paediatric medicines. The existing tools used in adults are discussed together with any limitations for their use within paediatric populations. The results of this review highlight several knowledge gaps in current methodologies in paediatric biopharmaceutics. The authors provide recommendations based on existing knowledge to adapt tests to better represent paediatric patient populations and also provide suggestions for future research that may lead to better tools to evaluate paediatric medicines.