Journal of Drug Design and Medicinal Chemistry 2017; 3(5): 67-70 http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/jddmc doi: 10.11648/j.jddmc.20170305.11 ISSN: 2472-355X (Print); ISSN: 2472-3576 (Online) Preparation and Evaluation of Combination Tablets of Diclofenac Sodium and Antacid Mixture Jannatul Fardous, Faria Farzana Perveen, Md Zahidul Islam, A. H. M. Saifuddin * , Sakina Sultana Department of Pharmacy, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh Email address: ahm.saifuddin11@gmail.com (A. H. M. Saifuddin) * Corresponding author To cite this article: Jannatul Fardous, Faria Farzana Perveen, Md Zahidul Islam, A. H. M. Saifuddin, Sakina Sultana. Preparation and Evaluation of Combination Tablets of Diclofenac Sodium and Antacid Mixture. Journal of Drug Design and Medicinal Chemistry. Vol. 3, No. 5, 2017, pp. 67-70. doi: 10.11648/j.jddmc.20170305.11 Received: July 28, 2016; Accepted: February 22, 2017; Published: October 31, 2017 Abstract: In this present study combination tablets containing diclofenac sodium, dried aluminium hydroxide gel and magnesium trisilicate were prepared using customized formula and common properties of tablets like hardness, thickness, diameter, weight and disintegration time along with the flow properties of granules were determined. Our results showed that most properties of the tablets complied with the official limit of acceptance. The pH, water absorption index, dissolution behavior and organoleptic property of tablets were also checked. Results showed that pH of combination tablets was 8.27 ± 0.04 when dissolved in purified water. Water absorption index varied from 0.1% to 0.2%. Tablets were undergone dissolution by 85% and 96% in 45 and 90 minutes respectively. In the study the organoleptic properties of the tablets remained the same over a period of 60 days. Keywords: Diclofenac Sodium, Dried Aluminium Hydroxide Gel, Magnesium Trisilicate, Organoleptic Property and Combination Tablets 1. Introduction In recent era non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have received great attention in treating inflammation and combating pain resulting from cellular damage caused by mechanical injury and infection. The main reason behind such attention is that NSAIDs are devoid of narcotic effects produced by the narcotic analgesics and hence these are called non-narcotic analgesics [1]. The common NSAIDs available in the market are salicylates, ibuprofen, naproxen and diclofenac and among these drugs diclofenac sodium might be the most commonly prescribed NSAID in Bangladesh [2]. At present the number of pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh is around 260 and a large number of these companies prepare diclofenac sodium in different dosage forms. The commonly available dosage forms containing diclofenac sodium are ‘tablets’, ‘suppositories’ and ‘gel’ [2]. Characteristically diclofenac sodium is a salt of [2-(2, 6–dichlorophenyl) amino] benzene acetic acid] [3]. Other salt form of this acid that is commercially available is diclofenac potassium but the sodium salt perhaps is the better choice because of its stability, pleasant taste and odor. Secondly, this drug offers a wide range of versatility in uses. And most importantly this drug shows better and stronger anti-inflammatory action than paracetamol, indomethacin and other NSAIDs. It is reported that diclofenac sodium being a salt of an organic acid has the tendency to get accumulated non-specifically at the sites of inflammation. Such phenomenon in turn reduces intracellular concentration of free arachidonic acid either by altering the release or uptake of the acid and ultimately strengthens drug action [1]. Moreover, this drug is also found to be suitable to manage and control for long term symptomatic treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, as well as short term treatment of acute myolo-skeletal injury, post operative pain and dysmenorrhoea. Although this is a drug of choice but this agent shows side effects and some might be potential. For instances diclofenac sodium in GIT induces irritation, bleeding, ulceration and eventually wall perfusion [1, 2, 3]. Therefore, patients are strongly advised to take anti acidic preparations along with this drug. Bangladesh is a high densely populated country and the number of physicians is relatively low. As a result the ratio between physician and patient is far behind the international requirements. According to the report of Bureau of Statistics, 2003 here one physician spends less than a minute for counseling a patient