Pharmaceutical evaluation of applicability of bentonite clays appointments in ointments for veterinary purpose

Abstract

Bentonite clays, especially those with a high content of montmorillonite, are widely used in the oil refining, winemaking, agricultural, and cosmetic industries. Such a wide and multidirectional use is primarily due to their unique physicochemical properties. The presence of these properties in bentonites arouses interest in them in pharmacy as excipients (emulsifiers, stabilizers, structure formers, etc.) as part of various dosage forms. However, despite the direct mention in the current State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation of the possibility of using bentonites as excipients, a substance officially permitted for these purposes in Russia is not registered and is not produced. In this regard, the urgent task was to conduct a preliminary pharmaceutical assessment of bentonite from a domestic field for the potential possibility of using it in veterinary pharmacy. The study was carried out on a modified sodium form of bentonite, processed to a homogeneous fine powder in comparison with the original alkaline earth form. The assessment was carried out according to indicators for pharmacopoeia analysis: description, authenticity, pH of an aqueous suspension, weight loss on drying, the content of arsenic, iron, calcium, carbonate chlorides, the presence of coarse particles, microbiological purity, swelling, gelling, emulsifying ability and stability emulsions. The evaluation of the emulsifying ability, emulsion stabilization, gelling properties and a number of pharmacopoeia indicators of good quality demonstrated the potential possibility of using domestically deposited bentonite in veterinary pharmacy (using the example of the Kantemirovskoye deposit in the Voronezh region) as excipients in the composition of dosage forms for veterinary use, in particular, heterogeneous ointments. In this regard, the sodium modification of bentonite seems to be more promising for further in-depth study.