Formulation and evaluation of flow properties of co-processed Caesalpinia gum and annealed maize starch

The shortcomings of existing excipients such as low dilution potential and poor die filling as a result of poor flow properties have been a problem in direct compression tableting. The objective of this study was to formulate and evaluate the flow properties of co-processed Caesalpinia gum and annealed maize starch at various ratios as a potential direct compression excipient. Caesalpinia gum was extracted from the fresh seeds of Caesalpinia pulcherrima plant (Family Caesalpiniaceae). The gum was co-processed with the annealed maize starch at varying ratios in a co-solvent system consisting of acetone and distilled water (2:1). The flow properties of the co-processed excipients were determined using standard methods such as bulk density, tapped density, particle density, angle of repose, Hausner ratio, and Carr’s index. Cellactose was used as a standard for comparison. It was found out that Batch III (15:85) Caesalpinia gum: annealed maize starch gave the best flow among the batches of the co-processed excipients containing Caesalpinia gum and annealed maize with angle of repose of 31.48^°±0.74, bulk, tapped, particle density of 0.42±0.06 g/cm³, 0.49±0.12 g/cm³, and 1.56±0.07 g/cm³ respectively, Carr’s index of 15.79 %, and Hausner ratio of 1.19. The study confirmed that the co-processed excipient flowed well in comparison with Cellactose^® 80 in flowability properties which was used as a standard for comparison, and can be used as a substitute for the commercially available co-processed excipient Cellactose^® 80.