Osonwa Uduma Eke

Gum from the peels of unripe plantain, Musa acuminata was extracted, after crushing, with distilled water and bleached with sodium hypochlorite solution. Five different granule batches of paracetamol were prepared with different concentrations of the powdered gum at concentrations of 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 % respectively, as mucilage. The disintegrant and lubricant were maize starch and magnesium stearate at 5 and 1 % total tablet weights, respectively. The wet granulation method was used with the incorporation of the disintegrant intragranularly. Similar granulations were made with a commercial binder - sodium carboxymethylcellulose (SCMC) for comparison. The flow properties of the granules were evaluated and the granules were compressed into tablets. The physicochemical properties of the tablets were evaluated. The plantain gum was fairly white. The granules produced with plantain gum showed similar flow properties with those produced with SCMC. The tablets formulated with plantain gum were more friable that the tablets formulated with SCMC, though, the values became close with increase in adhesive concentration. The tablets formulated with plantain peel gum disintegrated and released the drug faster than those formulated with SCMC. For example, the T30% in 0.1 N HCl was 3 mins for granulations with 6% plantain gum, and 10mins for those formulated with 6% of SCMC. The results show that the gum from fresh peels of Musa acuminata could be a good alternative binder to the commercially sourced SCMC in pharmaceutical formulations.