Author K. Subramanian , S.Narmadha, U.Vishnupriya & V.Vijayakumar
Increasing research interest has been focused on controlled drug delivery through tablet form using synthetic and natural biocompatible polymers as carriers, synthetic polymer drug carriers will be safely metabolized, they will not impart any health benefit unlike the natural carriers such as chitosan, starch , aloe vera, etc, , For the same biofluid, the observed higher drug release rate for paracetamol compared to aspirin was attributed to the difference in their structure and solubility. The enhanced drug dissolution with the increased content of amla juice powder in the tablet was more likely attributed to its highwater solubility, The enhanced drug dissolution with the increased content of amla juice powder in the tablet was more likely attributed to its highwater solubility. Aspirin is released at a faster rate in SGF (pH of 1.2) compared to SIF (pH of 7.2). The order of release rates of aspirin and paracetamol from the respective tablets in SIF is reversed in SGF. Replacing a part of aloe vera gel powder by chitosan, decreased the drug release rate. These observations demonstrated that by fine tuning the tablet compositions with aloe vera gel powder, amla juice powder and chitosan and media pH, desirable controlled drug release characteristics can be achieved Medications is the widely practiced method globally for treating diseases. Rate preprogrammed drug delivery for predetermined duration of medication is increasingly being employed in advanced control release technology. Different types of controlled-release dosage forms have been developed for improved clinical efficacy of drug and patient compliance. Among the dosage forms the tablets have an attractive option for pharmaceutical scientists and clinicians because they offer the advantages of accurate unit-dosing, better patient compliance, ease of large-scale manufacturing, and low production cost. Biodegradable biocompatible polymer and polymer hydrogels are widely employed as drug carriers in tablets. Drug release from hydrophilic matrix tablet is strongly influenced by the proportion and nature of matrix forming polymer apart from the dimensions and geometry of the tablet. It is one of the least complicated and convenient approaches to manufacture sustained release dosage forms that consist of a drug dispersed in a polymer. Since the polymer drug carriers usually do not impart any medical benefit other than controlling the release rate and as a binder matrix, present investigation involves the use of a natural carrier such as aloe vera gel having inherent tremendous medicinal values, It is to be noted that aloe vera gel powder may enhance the intestinal absorption, sustained release of pharmaceutical dosage forms, effective delivery of poorly absorbable drugs, enhancement of bioavailability of vitamin C, protection against degradation of vitamins. When taken internally along with the drug it may improve the digestive Musculo-skeletal and immune-related conditions apart from acting as an antioxidant. Moreover, natural polymers are biocompatible and enhance the drug release efficacy with reduced toxicity, and improved patient compliance with in vivo degradation at a well-defined rate, and can be readily isolated and purified in large quantities, preparation of tablets of non-steroidal drugs like paracetamol and aspirin using Aloe vera gel powder as a carrier in the presence of amla juice powder, chitosan , release profiles of the drugs UV spectrophotometrically in simulated biological fluids for the evaluation of drug release characteristics, Aspirin and paracetamol (non-steroidal drugs) tablets were made using carefully dried aloe vera gel powder as the natural drug carrier along with amla juice powder as nutrient excipient with varying compositions and in vitro release characteristics of these drugs in SIF and SGF at 37o C were evaluated UV spectrophotometrically. The release rates of these drugs were different in both the fluids which are having different ionic strength and pH values. The release rate for paracetamol is greater than that for aspirin in both the fluids which may be attributed to their differences in chemical structure and solubility. The enhanced drug release rate both in SIF and SGF with increasing content of amla juice powder in the tablet for the constant content of the drug may be attributed to the more likely development of porosity in tablets in these fluids due to the high solubility of amla juice powder. Aspirin is released at a faster rate in SGF (pH of 1.2) compared to SIF (pH of 7.2). The order of release rates of aspirin and paracetamol from the respective tablets in SIF is reversed in SGF. Replacing a part of aloe vera gel powder by chitosan, a natural inherently antimicrobial biopolymer decreased the drug release rate. Value of power law exponent n greater than 0.5 for the tablets investigated implied that the predominant drug release mechanism is non-Fiskian. The use of aloe vera gel powder a natural polymer as a carrier along with amla juice powder, will impart multiple health benefits and which in turn may minimize the side effect of drugs unlike in the tablets fabricated using synthetic biocompatible polymers as carriers. Hence the present investigations demonstrate that plant derived natural biopolymers with medicinal values may be successfully employed as a drug carrier for controlled and desirable drug delivery applications with additional health benefits associated with the herbal extracts used as carriers and excipient by fine tuning the tablet composition and media ph. The heterogeneous composition of the aloe vera pulp and amla juice may contribute to the diverse pharmacological and therapeutic activities of the tablet.
