Abstract

EVALUATION OF GUM ARABIC AS A FILM COATING FORMER FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ORAL TABLET FORMULATION

Suad Y. Alkarib*, Dina E. MohamedElhassan and Abubakr O. Nur

ABSTRACT

Objectives: The present study addresses evaluation of Gum Arabic as a film former for tablet film coating aiming to add knowledge on how to improve the film forming ability of Gum Arabic. Methods: four formulations of film coating solution incorporating different content of Gum Arabic were prepared and used to coat placebo tablet cores. Produced coated tablets were evaluated for their visual appearance and pharmaceutical attributes. Film coated tablets that revealed promising properties were subjected to accelerated stability study for 3 months to explore the influences of physical aging on tablet and film properties. Results: Compared to tablets that were coated either with films including 10% and 15% w/w Gum Arabic or films that were devoid of glycerin, polyethylene glycol or carboxymethyl cellulose in their respective formulations, tablets that coated with film solution containing 12% w/w Gum Arabic, 1% w/w glycerin and 3% w/w of either polyethylene glycol or carboxymethyl cellulose showed smoother tablet surfaces which were free of film defects, accepted pharmaceutical properties and stability against physical aging with respect to their properties. The study concluded that an efficient and stable Gum Arabic based tablet film coating is attainable as far as content of the gum, type and content of included plasticizer and presence of glycerin in noticeable amount in the film formulation are issues of concern.

Keywords: Tablet coating; Film coat; Gum Arabic; Film coat evaluation; Immediate release tablets.