Enteric-coated pellets: theoretical analysis of effect of dispersion in the stomach on blood level profiles.

The advantages of encapsulated enteric-coated pellets as dosage forms are discussed theoretically and compared to enteric-coated tablets. An enteric-coated tablet may take from approximately 0.5 to more than 8 hr to pass from the stomach to the duodenum. On the other hand, enteric-coated pellets are subjected to dispersion in the stomach, but they pass through the pyloric sphincter after a mean residence time in the stomach that would not be different from that exhibited by a suspension dosage form. The dispersion effect causes a theoretical reduction in peak blood level over that of an enteric-coated tablet of equivalent potency while maintaining bioavailability. It is hypothesized that enteric-coated pellets will reduce intestinal side effects that may occur with enteric-coated tablet preparations.