Abstract
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the bioequivalence of two domperidone maleate tablets, Motilium-$M^{(R)}$ Tablet (Janssen Korea Ltd., reference product) and $Toriem^{(R)}$ Tablet (Daewon Pharm. Co., Ltd., test product). Domperidone was extracted by liquid-liquid extraction using tert-butyl methyl ether and separated in less than 3 min on $C_{18}$ reverse-phase column using an isocratic elution. A tandem mass spectrometer, as detector, was used for quantitative analysis in positive mode by a multiple reaction monitoring mode to monitor the m/z $426.1{\rightarrow}119.1$ and the m/z $837.4{\rightarrow}158.2$ transitions for domperidone and the internal standard (roxithromycin), respectively. Calibration curves, from $0.05{\sim}50$ ng/mL of domperidone, showed correlation coefficients (r) higher than 0.9941. Intra day and inter day precision (C.V. %) for quality control were ranged from 10.04 to 16.09% and from 10.87 to 18.69%, respectively. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of domperidone was 0.05 ng/mL. The method described is precise and sensitive and has been successfully applied to the study of bioequivalence of domperidone in 24 healthy Korean volunteers. Twenty-four healthy male Korean volunteers received a single dose of each medicine ($2{\times}12.72\;mg$ domperidone maleate) in a $2{\times}2$ crossover study. There was a one-week washout period between the doses. Plasma concentrations of domperidone were monitored for over a period of 24 hr after the administration. $AUC_{0-t}$ (the area under the plasma concentration-time curve) was calculated by the linear trapezoidal rule. $C_{max}$ (maximum plasma drug concentration) and $T_{max}$ (time to reach $C_{max}$) were compiled from the plasma concentration-time data. The 90% confidence intervals for the log transformed data were within acceptable range of log 0.8 to log 1.25 (e.g., $log\;0.92{\sim}log\;1.05$ for $AUC_{0-t}$, $log\;0.81{\sim}log\;1.05$ for $C_{max}$). The major parameters, $AUC_{0-t}$ and $C_{max}$ met the criteria of KFDA for bioequivalence indicating that $Toriem^{(R)}$ tablet is bioequivalent to Motilium-$M^{(R)}$ tablet.
