Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Ispaghula Husk-Based Extended Release Tablets of Diclofenac Sodium: Formulation, Evaluation and In vitro Release Studies

D Raja¹, D Poornima¹, K Bhaskar¹, M Saravanan²

¹Vels College of Pharmacy, Pallavaram, Chennai, India; ²Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University, Sunway Campus, Malaysia 46150.

For correspondence:- Saravanan Email: msaravanan72@hotmail.com Tel:+60355144926

Received: 13 August 2012 Accepted: 29 December 2013 Published: 20 February 2014

Citation: Raja D, Poornima D, Bhaskar K, Saravanan M. Ispaghula Husk-Based Extended Release Tablets of Diclofenac Sodium: Formulation, Evaluation and In vitro Release Studies. Trop J Pharm Res 2014; 13(2):205-210 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v13i2.6

© 2014 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To formulate extended-release tablets of diclofenac sodium based on ispaghula husk.

Methods: Tablets with varying proportions of diclofenac sodium and ispaghula husk were formulated by wet granulation technique at a fixed compression force of 10 kN. The formulated tablets were evaluated for physicochemical parameters as well as by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and x-ray diffraction (XRD).

Results: Content uniformity, weight variation, thickness and friability of the formulated tablets were within acceptable limits. The hardness of the tablet decreased from 5.4 to 4.2 kg/cm² with increasing quantity of ispaghula husk in the formulation. In contrast, disintegration time increased from 12 to 70 min with increasing amount of husk. Tablets formulated with 1:0.25 and 1:0.5 drug/husk ratio failed to extend drug release whereas tablets prepared with 1:0.75 and 1:1 ratio extended release up to 5 and 6 h, respectively. FTIR, DSC and XRD analysis of tablets revealed the absence of diclofenac–ispaghula interaction and crystalline nature of diclofenac sodium. Drug release data fitted well with Korsmeyar-Peppas and the n value of 0.98 indicate non-Fickian diffusion. The tablets were stable on storage and retained its physicochemical properties within acceptable limits.

Conclusion: The results indicate the possibility of formulating extended-release tablets based on ispaghula husk. The tablets were stable during storage and free from drug-excipient interactions. However further studies are required to ascertain the safety of the husk and to optimize the release properties of the tablets.

Keywords: Ispaghula husk, Extended release tablet, Diclofenac sodium, Release kinetics