Captopril provides effective treatment for hypertension and congestive heart failure. However clinical use requires the daily dose of 37.5-75mg to be taken at three times. Development of a prolonged action dosage form for captopril will bring many benefits. The development of oral controlled or sustained captopril formulations has been a challenge for a long period of time. The reason being the drug is highly water soluble, unstable in alkaline intestinal pH and decrease in bioavailability in presence of food. Various attempts have been made to regulate the release and increase the bioavailability of the drug. This review focuses the recent progress and attempts made on the oral sustained or controlled release formulation for captopril.
