OBJECTIVE To compare and evaluate the price and quality of "branded" and branded-generic equivalents of some commonly used medicines manufactured by the same pharmaceutical company in India. MATERIALS AND METHODS FIVE COMMONLY USED MEDICINES: alprazolam, cetirizine, ciprofloxacin, fluoxetine, and lansoprazole manufactured in branded and branded-generic versions by the same company were select...

A chemiluminescence (CL) method has been developed for the determination of Hydroxyzine (Hyd) and its metabolite Cetirizine (Cet). The method is based on sensitizing effect of Cet and Hyd on the weak CL reaction between Ru(phen)32+ and acidic Ce(IV). A mechanism for the CL reaction has been proposed on the basis of UV-Vis, fluorescent and CL spectra. By using the recommended procedure, the cali...

Taste of a pharmaceutical formulation is an important parameter for the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy. Cetirizine dihydrochloride (CET) is a second-generation antihistamine that is commonly administered in allergy treatment. CET is characterized by extremely bitter taste and it is a great challenge to successfully mask its taste; therefore the goal of this work was to formulate and character...

The possible roles of spinal histamine receptors in the regulation of the blood glucose level were studied in ICR mice. Mice were intrathecally (i.t.) treated with histamine 1 (H1) receptor agonist (2-pyridylethylamine) or antagonist (cetirizine), histamine 2 (H2) receptor agonist (dimaprit) or antagonist (ranitidine), histamine 3 (H3) receptor agonist (α-methylhistamine) or antagonist (carcini...