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TUTORIAL ON THE PHARMACOPOEIAS & GENERAL REFERENCE TEXTS

NAME:

STUDENT NUMBER:

There are a number of major, mainstream Pharmacy reference books that are particularly useful in
Pharmaceutics. The objective of this tutorial is to familiarise yourself with a limited selection of these
reference books and to find out what type of pharmacy content they contain. This will help you in
identifying which book to refer to for particular problems.

Reference Books

 British Pharmacopoeia (BP) 2005

 The Pharmaceutical Codex (BPC) 12th edition, 1994
 Martindale. The Complete Drug Reference (either 1999, 2002 or 2007)
OR access it electronically via the Library webpage as follows: www.ru.ac.za > Library >
Research databases > Research databases : alphabetical list > M > Martindale
 Remington : The science and practice of pharmacy (2000, 2006)

1. What are the names of some other general reference books? (this does not include subject-
specific textbooks).

2. What does the term “monograph” mean?

3. How is the book divided up? How many parts/volumes/sections etc. and what information does
each contain?

4. Comment on the type and diversity of information contained in each book.

5. How does the information about the drugs appear - alphabetical/grouped in therapeutic class
etc?

6. Find a monograph of the SAME drug in the BP and Martindale. Using the table on this sheet as
a guide, identify the information which these 2 reference books contain. At the end of the
exercise, try and identify the major focus of the books.
 COMPARISON OF INFORMATION IN THE BP AND MARTINDALE

CATEGORY BP M-DALE
Acidity and pH of a solution of the drug
Adverse effects and treatment thereof
Allergic reactions
Assay
Bioavailability
Boiling point
Case histories
Chemical name/synonyms
Clarity and colour of solution
Description - appearance, colour, smell, taste, crystalline etc
Dissociation constant
Dosages and administration
Drug dependence
Formulations

Freezing point
Identification - chemical/physical/instrumental
Incompatibilities
Interactions
IR and UV absorption spectra
Light absorption
Limits of impurities that are acceptable
Loss on drying/moisture
Melting point
Molecular mass
Optical rotation
Percentage purity
Pharmacokinetics (ADME)
Precautions of usage
Solubility
Stability
Sterilization
Storage conditions
Structural/chemical formula
Toxic effects
Uses and actions
Veterinary uses