Effervescent tablets acid salts

Uses. Commercial monocalcium phosphate is available as both the anhydrous and the monohydrate salts. Most uses are based on acidic properties. Monocalcium phosphate is used to control acidity in powdered drink mixes, as an ingredient in effervescent tablets, as a plastics stabilizer, and in ceramics. Its single largest appHcation is as a leavening agent in bread, cake mixes, and self-rising flour. 

Saccharin or its sodium and calcium salts are used as sweeteners. Aspartame is also employed as a sweetener in effervescent tablets. Earlier, cyclamates and cyclamic acid were the artificial sweeteners of choice, but their use has now been restricted. 

Effervescence these systems that consist for instance of a carbonate or bicarbonate salt and an organic acid like e.g. citric acid, develop carbon dioxide gas on contact with water and are well known in pharmaceutical/health food tablets. A few market products exist that make use of this system but for reasons explained above this system is not that suitable for detergent tablets with a high content of surfactants. 

Analytical Procedure Microscopic Examination Place a small amount of a crushed tablet or capsule contents on a slide, mix with a drop of water, and cover carefully with a cover-slip avoiding trapped air bubbles. Observe under low-power magnification. Effervescence will be obvious. If crystalline material is visible, note if it is water-soluble. Check the pH of the solution. An alkaline reaction may indicate the presence of a sodium salt of an acidic drug. Introduce a small drop of silver nitrate solution along one edge of the cover-slip a visible precipitate indicates the possible presence of a hydrochloride salt of a basic drug. 

The first effervescent preparations were described over two centuries ago in the official compendia they were in powder form for use as cathartic salts. Later, in 1815, a patent described a combination of neutral salt or powder which possesses all the properties of the medicinal spring of Seidlitz in Germany, under the name of Seidlitz Powders, which contains sodium potassium tartarate, sodium bicarbonate, and tartaric acid, in the proportions 3 1 1, respectively (1). Effervescent granules and tablets have become more and more popular as the dosage form because they are readily soluble and easy to consume just by drinking the glass of water where they are dissolved. 

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