Mechanical Properties of Herbal Patches from Chitosan-Based Polymer Blends for Medical Applications

Abstract

Recently, Thai herbs are widely used as medicine to treat some illnesses. Zingiber cassumunar Roxb., known by the Thai name “Plai”, is a popular anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic herbal body and muscle treatment. This research aimed to prepare herbal patches that incorporated the 3 g of crude Z. cassumunar oil. The herbal patches made from different polymer blends were 2 g of 3.5%w/v chitosan and 5 g of 20%w/v hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), or 2 g of 3.5%w/v chitosan and 5 g of 20%w/v polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) using 2 g of glycerin as a plasticizer. They were prepared by mixing all ingredients in a beaker and produced by solvent casting method in hot air oven at 70±2oC. The completed herbal patches were evaluated for their mechanical properties including Young’s modulus, ultimate tensile strength, elongation at break, T-peel strength, and tack adhesion. The thickness of blank and herbal patches was 0.263-0.282 mm and 0.269-0.275 mm, respectively. Young’s modulus, ultimate tensile strength, elongation at break, T-peel strength, and tack adhesion were 104.73-142.71 MPa, 87.92-93.28 MPa, 154.39-174.98 %, 3.43-4.88 MPa, and 5.29-7.02 MPa, respectively, for blank patches, and 116.83-147.28 MPa, 89.49-100.47 MPa, 133.78-159.27 %, 2.01-3.98 MPa, and 4.03-5.19 MPa, respectively, for herbal patches. We prepared herbal blended patches made from chitosan/PVA or chitosan/HPMC polymer matrix blends incorporating the crude Z. cassumunar oil. They had good mechanical properties that might be developed for herbal medicinal application.