Effects of Pigeon Pea and Plantain Starches on the Compressional, Mechanical, and Disintegration Properties of Paracetamol Tablets

Abstract

A study has been made of the effects of pigeon pea starch obtained from the plant Cajanus cajan (L) Millisp. (family Fabaceae) and plantain starch obtained from the unripe fruit of Musa paradisiaca L. (family Musaceae) on the compressional, mechanical, and disintegration properties of paracetamol tablets in comparison with official corn starch BP. Analysis of compressional properties was done by using density measurements, and the Heckel and Kawakita equations, whereas the mechanical properties of the tablets were evaluated by using tensile strength (T--a measure of bond strength) and brittle fracture index (BFI--a measure of lamination tendency). The ranking for the mean yield pressure, P(y), for the formulations containing the different starches was generally corn < pigeon pea < plantain starch while the ranking for P(k), an inverse measure of the amount of plasticity, was pigeon pea < plantain < corn starch, which indicated that formulations containing corn starch generally exhibited the fastest onset of plastic deformation, whereas those formulations containing pigeon pea starch exhibited the highest amount of plastic deformation during tableting. The tensile strength of the tablets increased with increase in concentration of the starches while the Brittle Fracture Index decreased. The ranking for T was pigeon pea > plantain > corn starch while the ranking for BFI was corn > plantain > pigeon pea starch. The bonding capacity of the formulations was in general agreement with the tensile strength results. The disintegration time (DT) of the formulation increased with concentration of plantain and corn starches but decreased with concentration of pigeon pea starch. The general ranking of DT values was plantain < pigeon pea < corn starch. Notably, formulations containing pigeon pea starch exhibited the highest bond strength and lowest brittleness, suggesting the usefulness of pigeon pea starch in producing strong tablets with minimal lamination tendency. Plantain starch, on the other hand, would be more useful where faster disintegration of tablet is desired. The results show that the starches could be useful in various formulations depending on the intended use of the tablets with the implication that the experimental starches can be developed for commercial purposes.

Potentials of tropical starches as pharmaceutical excipients: A review

“…The binding properties of pigeon pea starch paste have been evaluated in paracetamol tablet formulations [124]. The authors showed that the tensile strength of the tablets increased with increase in concentration of the starch while the Bt fracture index and disintegration time decreased.…”

“…Pigeon pea starch was found to be useful in producing strong tablets with minimal lamination and capping tendencies. The study concluded that pigeon pea starch could be more useful as binding agent when high speed tableting machine with short dwell time are used in the production of pharmaceutical tablets [124].…”

The Glidant Properties of Cyperus esculentus, L (Tigernut) Starch in Metronidazole Tablet Formulation

“…It is also used as coating and dusting media for various types of tablet coating, such as sugar and enteric coating . Tropical starches have been investigated as binders, disintegrants, and glidants/lubricants in tablet formulations.…”

Development of directly compressible excipients from phoenix dactylifera (date) mucilage and microcrystalline cellulose using co-processing techniques

“…Generally, cofused excipients offered significantly lower (p<0.05) values of P y . Lower values of P y implies faster onset of plastic deformation and the cofused excipients in this case would deform more readily under pressure on a high-speed tablet machine 33 , compared to the cogrinded types. Avicel (0 % DAM) showed the least P y and this is not surprising since it's a direct-compresion excipient.…”

“…The phase of particle rearrangement in the early stages of tablet compression is called the relative density at low pressure, D b and indicates the degree of fragmentation of particles 33 . Akin-Ajani et al 32 ., has reported that fragmentation of particles can occur concurrently with plastic and elastic deformation during compression.…”