The use of xerogel from <i>Manihot esculenta</i> as multipurpose excipient in sulphathiazide tablet formulations

Abstract

This study focuses on developing xerogel from Manihot esculenta starch and assessing its suitability as solo excipient in sulphathiazide tablet  formulations using 23 factorial design. The two independent variables are, the types of excipient used and three different drug/excipient ratios. The dependent variables in this study are tablet crushing strength and tablet disintegration time. The development of xerogel in this study, was carried  out in three phases; processing of starch extraction, modification by heat treatment and xerogelization in absolute ethanol. Subsequently, a 23  factorial design was used to optimize the sulphathiazide tablet formulations. Data obtained were subjected to a two-way analysis of variance  (ANOVA). It was observed that effects of treatment factor and concentration level on tablet properties were significant at 5 % level. The tablet  hardness and disintegration time were largely dependent on the type of the binder/disintegrant used, rather than on their concentration. The hot- melt solvent evaporation of starch, in this study, significantly improved the uptake ability of the Manihot esculenta xerogel as (a multipurpose
binder/disintegrant) especially at 14 % concentration in sulphathiazide tablet formulation.

Keywords: xerogel, hot-melt evaporation, multipurpose excipient, Manihot esculenta