Influence of Incorporation of <i>Pleurotus tuber-regium</i> Powder on the Release Characteristics of Acetaminophen Tablets formed with certain Acrylate Methacrylate Copolymers as Binders

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of incorporation of Pleurotus tuber-reguim powder on the release profiles of acetaminophen tablets. Pleurotus tuber-reguim powder was prepared from the mushroom sclerotium. The powdered sclerotia was bleached with 3.5% w/v sodium hypochlorite solution, slurred with ethanol, washed with water and dried at 50°C for 24 h. Using wet granulation technique, varying concentrations of the fine powder (0-25% w/w) were used intra- and extra-granularly to prepare various batches of acetaminophen tablets with 5% w/v Eudragit RL-100 or RS PO as binder. The tablets were evaluated for hardness, friability, disintegration and dissolution. The tablets formed hard compact with acceptable hardness values ranging from 5.0-9.7 kp which decreased with increasing concentration of P. tuber-regium powder. Only the batches of tablets without disintegrants met the official specification for friability with values ≥ 0.69 %. Pleurotus tuber-regium powder inclusion lowered the disintegration times of the matrix tablets with increasing concentrations. There was marked increase in the release of the drug from the matrix tablet with increase in the concentrations of the P. tuber-regium powder irrespective of the mode of disintegrant incorporation or polymer type. The intra-granular incorporated batches of tablets exhibited a higher drug release within 6 h when compared with the extra-granular incorporated tablets. P. tuber-regium powder serving as a swelling agent when incorporated intragranularly in matrix tablet system has the potential application for modulating or enhancing drug release at appropriate concentrations.

Keywords: P. tuber-regium, excipients, disintegrants incorporation, drug release