¹Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria
²Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Madonna University, Elele, Rivers State, Nigeria DOI : 10.12991/mpj.20162036047 This study aimed to extract gums from Chrysophyllum albidum (CAG) fruit and Anacardium occidentale (AOG) bark tears; and characterize them as wet and dry binders in tablets. AOG and CAG were extracted using old and modified protocols respectively. CAG, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and gelatin (GTN) were used in wet granulation (WG), while CAG, AOG, pregelatinized starch (PGS) and hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC) were used in direct compression (DC). Granules and powder blends were evaluated for flowability, while tablets underwent standard quality assessment to characterize and compare CAG and AOG to standard binders. CAG yield was influenced by anti-solvent and procedure used. Ethanol precipitated more gum than acetone; slurry from mixture of exocarp and mesocarp gave lower gum yield than mesocarp alone. On flowability, granules formulated with CAG flowed better than those containing PVP or GTN. Ciprofloxacinexcipients blends exhibited poor flow but can be rank in order of performance: PGS>AOG>CAG>HPMC. WG tablets possessed excellent mechanical properties, with binder efficiency ranked as: CAG>PVP>GTN. DC tablets had acceptable mechanical properties (CAG at concentrations ≥ 6%, AOG at ≥ 2%). Drug release from WG with CAG or PVP at 1- 2% was ≥ 80% in 30 min, but CAG significantly (p<0.05) reduced release at 3-4%, while GTN did at 2-4%. DC tablets (CAG or PGS) released ≥ 80% drug in 30 min. AOG imparted slow release, while HPMC allowed much slower release. CAG and AOG have good binder efficiencies, thus useable at low concentrations as wet and dry binders to produce tablets with acceptable pharmaceutical characteristics. Keywords : Chrysophyllum albidum gum, Anacardium occidentale gum, wet and dry binders, ciprofloxacin tablets