J Pharm Biomed Anal. 1997 Oct; 16(2): 185-9.

Bioavailability of different artemisinin tablet formulations in rabbit plasma--correlation with results obtained by an in vitro dissolution method.

Ngo TH, Quintens I, Roets E, Declerck PJ, Hoogmartens J.

Laboratory for Pharmaceutical Biology and Phytopharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.

The demonstration of a good overall correlation with in vivo data is the ultimate proof of qualification for any dissolution-rate test. For artemisinin, a very hydrophobic compound at a high content in oral solid dosage forms, all official dissolution apparatus were estimated unsuitable. A modified two phase partition-dissolution method was applied to solve this problem. This study reports on the bioavalability of three different formulations of artemisinin tablets in rabbit plasma. Artemisinin concentrations in plasma were determined by liquid chromatography. A linear correlation between results obtained by the partition-dissolution method described and the obtained in vivo data confirmed the validity of the dissolution method.