EXTRACTION OF MUCILAGE FROM OCIMUM AMERICANUM LINN & ITS ROLE AS DISINTEGRANT IN TABLETS FORMULATION

Plant products serve as an alternative to synthetic products because of local accessibility, eco-friendly nature and lower prices compare to important synthetic products. Natural gums and mucilage have been widely explored as pharmaceutical excipients. The present study was undertaken to separate mucilage from the seeds of Ocimum americanum linn and explore its use as a tablet disintegrant. Method for extraction of mucilage from the seeds was developed and it was separated. The separated mucilage was evaluated for various parameters as per Indian pharmacopoeia. The disintegrating efficiency of separated mucilage was compared with that of the starch in tablets prepared using lactose, Paracetamol and poly vinyl pyrrolidone as model diluent, drug and binder respectively. The disintegration time for tablet formulations prepared using mucilage was less then that was prepared by using starch as a disintegrant.