In recent times the apparent upsurge in the popularity and use of herbal medicines can be related to the success in their use for the management of certain important diseases, empirical proof of efficacy and safety, enhanced dosage form design and better tolerance among others. In this study the quality of some herbal medicines sold in Nigeria were evaluated for basic pharmaceutical quality and compliance to regulatory guidelines. Samples of sixteen frequently used herbal products were collected from Pharmacy stores (Ps) and Patent Medicine stores (PMs) across two states and the Federal Capital Territory. The dosage form, organoleptic properties, moisture content, weight/volume uniformity as well as compliance to regulatory guidelines were evaluated. Sixty percent of the samples were liquids, thirty percent were oral bulk powders and ten percent were capsules. None of the products complied completely with the regulatory requirement stipulated for finished herbal products in Nigeria while only ten percent of the products samples complied with the basic physicochemical properties required for pharmaceutical quality. Consequently, there is a compelling need for the regulatory authorities to ensure stringent quality surveillance and enforcement of guidelines to ensure that herbal medicines are of standard quality.
This study was carried out to evaluate sustained release diclofenac sodium matrix tablets formulated using Brachystegia eurycoma gum (BEG) as matrix polymer. BEG was isolated by acetone -precipitation of the filtrate obtained from the maceration of powdered dried seeds of Brachystegia eurycoma in distilled water. Diclofenac sodium matrix tablets were produced by non-aqueous wet granulation method using BEG as the hydrophilic matrix former. The tablets were evaluated using official and unofficial tests such as; uniformity of weight, content uniformity, dissolution test, tablets diameter, thickness, hardness and friability tests. The drug release profile of the matrix tablets were compared to that formulated using a standard matrix former, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC). Hardness values ranged from 6.12 ± 1.80 to 9.73 ± 1.39 kgf, friability from 0.31 ± 0.00 to 1.00 ± 0.00%. The drug content ranged from 98 to 101 %. The percentage drug released from the matrix tablets after 10 h was between 71.27 and 98.73 % except for formulation BF3 that released 32.56 %. This study showed that sustained release diclofenac sodium matrix tablets were successfully formulated using Brachystegia eurycoma gum as the matrix former and the tablets were comparable to that formulated with HPMC.
Keywords: Brachystegia eurycoma gum; Diclofenac sodium; Matrix tablets; Sustained release
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