EVALUATION OF ANTIULCER ACTIVITY OF MUCOADHESIVE MICROGRANULES CONTAINING RANITIDINE HYDROCHLORIDE IN EXPERIMENTAL RATS

Abstract

Objective: Ranitidine hydrochloride is a competitive inhibitor of histamine H2-receptors, the drug of choice in the treatment of ulcer. The drug has a short biological half-life of approximately 2–3 h, thus a sustained release dosage form of ranitidine HCl is desirable. The aim of this study was to formulate and in vitro evaluate micro granules of ranitidine HCl using 8% aloe vera powder due to cytoprotective effects.Methods: Micro granules were prepared by wet granulation method using aloe vera powder as bio-adhesive polymer. The animals were albino male Wistar rats, divided into 4 groups. One group as a control group, the second group as placebo, third groups received ranitidine without aloe vera, and fourth groups as the treated group received ranitidine micro granules. The damage of ulceration was induced with absolute ethanol, dosing at 1 ml/200 g animal body weight. The microscopic observation was done at the first and third day after treatment.Results: At the first day, the reference and treated group showed the lower ulcer number score mean and ulcer diameter score mean than placebo group. The ulcer index and curative value of reference group were better than treated group, 51.3% and 29.7% respectively. But, at the third day, ulcer index and curative value of treated group possessed better result than reference group, confirming that aloe vera acts as mucoadhesive polymer and gives the release of drug in a sustained manner.Conclusion: Aloe vera powder (Aloe vera (L.) Webb) can be used to formulate micro granules for the prolonged delivery of ranitidine HCl. The micro granules containing in ranitidine dose of 0,04 mg/kg body weight reduce the ulceration induced by absolute ethanolKeywords: Aloe vera powder, Microgranules, Ranitidine HCl, Ulceration, Macroscopic view