Abstract
Gum and mucilages from natural sources are in recent times increasingly investigated for pharmaceutical applications. Different studies have shown that the gum and mucilage fraction of various species of the genus Grewia were found to be effective viscosity enhancers, stabilizers, disintegrants, suspending agents, gelling agents, bioadhesives, film coating agents, and binders. However, no study has been conducted on the potential use of Grewia ferruginea mucilage (GFM) as a pharmaceutical excipient. Therefore, this study was aimed at characterizing the Grewia ferruginea bark mucilage for its potential use as a pharmaceutical excipient. The mucilage was extracted from the Grewia ferruginea inner stem bark through aqueous extraction, precipitated with 96% ethanol, dried, and powdered. The powdered mucilage was characterized for different physicochemical properties such as powder property, loss on drying, solubility and swelling index, ash value, pH, viscosity, moisture sorption property, microbial load, and acute oral toxicity. According to the results, the percentage yield of the final dried and powdered GFM was found to be 11.96% (w/w). The density and density-related properties of the mucilage showed good powder flow property. The GFM exhibited pseudoplastic flow behavior. Moisture sorption property of GFM revealed its hygroscopic nature, and its solubility and swelling property was increased with temperature. The pH of GFM was near neutral. Microbial load of the mucilage was within the pharmacopoeial limit, and the oral acute toxicity test revealed that the mucilage is safe up to 2000 mg/kg. From the investigations of this study, it can be concluded that Grewia ferruginea bark mucilage has the potential to be utilized as an excipient in pharmaceutical formulations.
Highlights
Gum and mucilages from natural sources are in recent times increasingly investigated for pharmaceutical applications [1]
Total viable aerobic counts (TVAC) of the Grewia ferruginea mucilage for bacteria and Total Combined Mold and Yeast Count (TCMYC) for fungi were conducted using Tryptosan Soya Agar as the medium and Dichloran Rose Bengal Agar medium with 1% Saline-Peptone as diluents, respectively
The acute toxicity studies of the mucilage showed no sign of toxic manifestations such as restlessness, respiratory distress, diarrhea, convulsions, and coma
Summary
Gum and mucilages from natural sources are in recent times increasingly investigated for pharmaceutical applications [1]. Gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates containing one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked with a variety of structures [3]. They can be obtained from different parts of plants, various marine algae, and microorganisms [4]. The genus Grewia which belongs to the Tiliaceae family is widespread consisting of more than 250 species [6]. It is composed of small trees or shrubs distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Arabia, Asia, and Northern Australia [7]. Grewia schweinfurthii Burret, Grewia tenax (Forssk.) Fiori, Grewia velutina (Forssk.) Vahl, Grewia villosa Willd., Grewia bicolor Juss., and Grewia mollis
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