microcrystalline cellulose

In this study, the compactability and compressibility of modified starches obtained from the tuber Plectranthus esculentus were evaluated in comparison with the standard microcrystalline cellulose (MCC 101). Starch was extracted from the fresh tubers of P. esculentus by wet milling. Three modifications of the starch were made, acid hydrolysis (APS), pregelatinization (PPS), and ethanol dehydrated pregelatinization (PPE). Tablet’s compaction characteristics were studied using models of Heckel and Kawakita equations, while compressibility index were evaluated using tablet’s density measurements. The percentage recovery yields for the three modifications revealed that PPS has the highest yield in comparison to PPE and APS. Compaction and compressibility evaluation demonstrate that modification by acid hydrolysis (APS) and ethanol dehydration of the pregelatinized starch (PPE) produced directly compressible filler/binder that can plastically deform on compression base on their mean yield pressure Py and the inverse measure of plastic deformation Pk values were lower in comparison to the pregelatinized modification (PPS). Compressibility index also revealed that APS and PPE are more compressible and better comparable to mcc 101 than PPS.