COMPARATIVE EFFICACY OF SAFOOF E MUHAZZIL AND ITS COMPRESSED TABLETS ON PARAMETERS OF WEIGHT REDUCTION

Background: To enhance patient compatibility Safoof e Muhazzil (powder) was compressed into tablets. Objectives: The present study was aimed at comparing the two dosage forms for any variations in the efficacy of Safoof e Muhazzil. Method: This triple-armed RCT was carried out on 90 patients after obtaining ethical clearance and written and informed consent. The study period was six weeks. Improvement was measured in terms of change in weight, BMI, waist hip ratio (WHR) and waist circumference (WC). 5g of powdered Safoof e Muhazzil (SMC) was given twice daily with water, whereas, 5 tablets of Safoof e Muhazzil (SMT) were given twice daily with water. The third group was given atarvostatin 10 mg once daily. Result: The study recorded a 20.03 % dropout. Most of the patients were non-alcoholic, non-smoker, non-vegetarian males above 45 years and had BMI between 25-30 kg/m2. SMC and SMT gave similar results on all parameters of weight management with p<0.001. This can be attributed to the anti-oxidant and lipolytic properties of Safoof e Muhazzil per say and of its constituents. There was no significant difference between the two dosage forms on any of the parameters. Conclusion: The study concludes that the compression of the powder did not affect the drug’s efficacy. This prompts further studies on the effect of this drug in weight-related co-morbidities. Other classical dosage forms should be tested in more patient friendly dosage forms. However, the short sample size was a restrain and warrants further studies on a bigger sample size.