Panadol ActiFast Versus Panadol Regular

What is the difference between this 2 products?

Panadol regular or panadol 500mg. Each tablet contain 500mg of paracetamol. The price is around RM 2.80 for 10 tablets.

Panadol ActiFast. Each caplet contain 500mg of paracetamol + 173mg of sodium. The price is around RM 4.60 for 8 caplets.

The amount of active ingredient is the same. So what is the difference between this two products? 

The key different actually lies in the excipient (non-active ingredients content of the tablet).

 For the drug to carry out it action, it must be absorbed from our gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Paracetamol is poorly absorbed in the stomach but well absorbed in the small intestine due to the greater surface area and hence absorptive capacity of the small intestine. 

Sodium bicarbonate is an excipient in the formulation which has a role in increasing the rates of gastric emptying (hence movement of drugs from the stomach into small intestine) and that of dissolution and hence the speed of absorption of paracetamol to provide faster onset of relief.

However, the amount of sodium bicarbonate in 2 tablets of Panadol ActiFast are required per dose to have such an effect which mean you have to take 2 tablets of Panadol Actifast to has that fast rate of absorption.

The rate of absorption of Panadol ActiFast is twice as fast as standard panadol if taken in 2 tablets per dose.

If you take only 1 tablet of Panadol Actifast, the rate of absorption is the same as taking 1 tablet of standard panadol. For asian, it is customary that sometime we take only 500mg (1 tablet) of doses. So I would suggest to take standard panadol if you wish to take only 1 tablet as it would be cheaper while the effect is the same.

The extend (amount) of drug absorption is the same for both product. The Panadol ActiFast is meant to give fast relief of pain while the EFFICACY of both product is the SAME 

Reference:

1.GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. Retrieved from: http://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/21529/SPC/panadol%20actifast/

2, Drugs.com. Panadol ActiFast. Retrieved from: http://www.drugs.com/uk/panadol-actifast-spc-8801.html