Bioavailability of four brands of phenytoin tablets

In order to evaluate the bioavailability of four different brands of phenytoin (diphenylhydantoin, DPH) tablets single doses of 600 mg DPH in acid form were given to six volunteers in a cross-over study. A micronized DPH-acid suspension was used as the reference standard. Significant differences between various products were found. The areas under the serum DPH concentration-time curves (AUC) were 26, 59, 68 and 90 per cent of the AUC of the DPH suspension. The peak serum DPH concentrations using the different tablets were 24, 54, 55 and 80 per cent of the peak value of the DPH suspension. It is likely that the differences in bioavailability of the DPH tablets are of clinical significance.