Evaluation of sterculia poetida L.gum as natural based disintegrating excipient

Abstract

Natural adjuvants have received increasing attention in recent years. Sterculia foetida L. gum (SFG) has been considered as multifunctional polymer for various applications in both food industry and pharmaceutical dosage forms. Sterculia foetida L. is widely grown in Binh Thuan Province, Viet Nam. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of Sterculia foetida L. gum in hydrophilic tablets. Therefore, the physicochemical properties of Sterculia foetida L. gum, including solubility, grain shape, melting point, swelling index, pH, viscosity and loss on drying were determined. Furthermore, compressed tablets were successfully prepared for in vitro studies at many different particle sizes, concentrations of gum, rotational speeds and media in order to evaluate the effects of these parameters on the rate of drug release. Besides, SFG tablets were compared with the tablets prepared with Hydroxymethylcellulose E15. The findings indicated that SFG exhibited an excellent potential in managed release dosage forms. Tablets based on SFG prolonged the drug release as opposed to HPMC E15 forms. The scanning electron micrographs showed that most gum particles were of multi-morphology. The viscosity, pH, loss on drying, melting point and swelling index were 176 cP, 5.21, 10.9 %, 225oC and 4.4 %, respectively. The formulation containing 40% of gum was suitable for prolonging drug release. There was no significant impact of fillers on drug release profile while rotational speed had a huge effect. The outcomes demonstrated that Sterculia foetida L. gum could be used as a potential candidate for novel drug delivery system.