Aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid is

Aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid is a derivative of salicylic acid that is
analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory which is used in the
relief of headache, muscle and joint pain. It works by restricting
the production of prostaglandins and can be found in singleingredient
oral pain relievers, fever reducers or in medicines
which contain more than one active ingredient [1]. Moreover, it is
also available in medicines which are used to treat additional
symptoms, such as occasional sleeplessness, stomach upset,
heartburn, and the multiple common cold symptoms [2-5]. Core
aspirin is usually taken and easy to dissolve is the regular and
conventional form of aspirin. The other one “enteric coated” form
is the coated form which is also known as “delayed release tablet”.
The enteric coated allows the aspirin to pass through the stomach
without getting dissolve in it. Aspirin causes some gastric problem
or irritation in stomach of many people, therefore, enteric coated
is developed to circumvent this problem. The enteric coating
prevents the release of drug until it has passed through the
stomach, and then releases to the intestine and get dissolve there
[6,7]. Aspirin is a substituted phenyl ester and it has good leaving
group due to an aromatic ester since it is unstable in moist
conditions therefore, it get easily hydrolyzed in weakly alkaline
medium. Since pH is maintained to control the stability and
composition of aspirin drug [8]. In moist conditions, aspirin
undergoes autocatalytic degradation [9] forming salicylic acid.
Increase in temperature may also leads to the degradation of that
product. The aim of present project is to measure the comparative
degradation rate of core and enteric coated aspirin tablets under
different environmental conditions. It includes exposure to UV
radiation of shorter and longer wavelength, temperature at 40, 50
and 60 °C and relative humidity ranging from 35, 50 and 75 %
accordingly. The degradation of drug was monitored after 24, 48
and 72 hrs in both packed and un-packed forms carried out
through UV spectrophotometer. The results indicate a distinct
degradation pattern under the above mentioned conditions
explaining the drug stability in core and enteric coated forms.