ABSTRACT:
The present investigation aims to carry out a comparative evaluation of okra mucilage, fenugreek seed mucilage and banana peel pectin as natural superdisintegrants in paracetamol immediate release tablets. Crospovidone was used as reference standard. Natural polymers were extracted from fresh okra pods, fenugreek seeds and banana peels by aqueous extraction and alcohol precipitation. Physicochemical properties (pH, swelling index, viscosity and moisture content) were determined. Ten tablet formulations were prepared by direct compression, apart from a reference formulation containing 4% crospovidone. These formulations contained each natural polymer at 2%, 4% and 6% w/w concentrations. The prepared tablets were evaluated for precompression flow properties, weight variation, thickness, hardness, friability, drug content, wetting time, water absorption, disintegration time and in vitro dissolution. Fenugreek mucilage exhibited the highest extraction yield (14.0%), swelling index (10.5) and viscosity (220 mPa·s), followed by okra mucilage and banana peel pectin. Among the natural-polymer based formulations, 4% fenugreek mucilage showed the best performance with 29 seconds wetting time and 45 seconds disintegration time. It also had a drug release of 81% and 97% in 15 and 30 minutes respectively. The formulation containing crospovidone showed relatively faster disintegration and higher initial drug release. Overall, the mucilage of fenugreek showed promising potential as a plant-based superdisintegrant for paracetamol immediate-release tablets especially at 4% w/w concentration. Additional experimentation and statistical analysis are needed to determine its pharmaceutical application.
Cite this article:
Narayan, S., Comparative Evaluation of Okra Mucilage, Fenugreek Mucilage, and Banana Peel Pectin as Superdisintegrants in Paracetamol Immediate-Release Tablets. Probecell Sci., 2026;3(2):15-23 10.65807/prob.sci.2026.3.2.2DOI: https://doi.org/10.65807/prob.sci.2026.3.2.2
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