RESUMO
The stability studies of tablets containing 5 mg of policosanol, a new cholesterol lowering drug, were conducted to predict an expiration date and to search the appearance of putative degradation products. All quality parameters such as colour, moisture content, hardness, disintegration, policosanol content and microbiological limits of the tablets were assessed. The effect of extreme treatments such as acid and basic hydrolysis, oxidative and photolytic degradation as well as thermal degradation, on the policosanol content was studied. In addition, studies under extreme conditions of storage [(40 +/- 2) degree C and (75 +/- 5)% R.H.] as well as 37, 45, 55 and 60 degrees C combined with 50, 75 and 92% R.H.) and under ambient conditions of storage for climatic zones II and IV were performed. These studies demonstrate that these tablets are a stable pharmaceutical formulation, without significant changes in their quality criteria at the stressed conditions used, so that policosanol content remains unchanged during the entire studies. The chromatographic profile of the samples after 9 months of thermal degradation shows chromatographic peaks that corresponds to the palmitate and stearate esters of octacosanoyl, triacontanoyl and hexacosanoyl, being the only degradation products observed on these studies.