TABLETING AND COMPACTION PROPERTIES OF ANOGEISSUS LEIOCARPUS AND PROSOPIS AFRICAN A EXTRACT SCREENED AS AN ANTIASTHMATIC.

TABLETING AND COMPACTION PROPERTIES OF ANOGEISSUS LEIOCARPUS AND PROSOPIS AFRICAN A EXTRACT SCREENED AS AN ANTIASTHMATIC.

Abstract:

Anogeissus leiocarpus and Prosopis africana are popular herbal antiasthmatic drugs used in Northern Nigeria. However there is always the problem of standardisation. This can be over come by formulating the plant extract into a pharmaceutical dosage form. Tablets offer several advantages over the other oral medications such as precision of dosage, durability of physical characteristics for extended period of storage and stability of chemical and physiological activity of drugs. The stem barks of Anogeissus leiocarpus and Prosopis africana were extracted using cold (maceration) and hot water extraction methods. Rr values of spots obtained on the TLC plates and the Àmax on the UV were similar for extracts obtained from both methods of extraction, indicating that the heat involved in the extraction process did not affect the extract chemically. Anogeissus leiocarpus was found to contain saponins, tannins, flavonoids, and glycosides, while Prosopis africana was found to contain in addition alkaloids. The combined extract was found to contain glycosides, alkaloids, saponins, tannins and flavonoids. To justify the use of the stem barks of Anogeissus leiocarpus and Prosopis africana in the management of asthma, the hot water extracts of Anogeissus leiocarpus; Prosopis africana and the 50:50 combinations were investigated for anti asthmatic activity using different laboratory animals and pharmacological models. The LD50 of the combination was found to be higher than either of the LD50’s of individual extracts indicating that an interaction which lead to the formation of a less toxic extract may have taken place. The three extracts were found to have a dose dependant relaxation on the isolated rabbit jejunum, isolated guinea pig trachea and guinea pig bronchospasm. A synergistic effect was observed when the combined extract was used on the rabbit jejunum. A dose dependant anti-inflammatory activity on the induced rat paw oedema was observed with all three extracts, and combination of the extracts produced an additive anti-inflammatory effect. The anti-inflammatory activity of the extract was used as a biological ‘fingerprint’ to test the effect of diluent consolidated by an initial fragmentation followed by plastic deformation; which is characteristic of type B material. This finding suggested that the extract modified the consolidation characteristics of lactose, which is a known type B material. The tensile strength of the tablets formulated with MgC03 increased with increasing compression pressure from 56.58 to 113.16 MNm-2 while tensile strength of tablets formulated with lactose was highest at the compression force of 84.87 MNm-2. The results have shown that the use of the plants Anogeissus leiocarpus and Prosopis africana in the management of asthma is justified. The main research objective of formulating these plants into a pharmaceutically acceptable dosage form was also accomplished.

TABLETING AND COMPACTION PROPERTIES OF ANOGEISSUS LEIOCARPUS AND PROSOPIS AFRICAN A EXTRACT SCREENED AS AN ANTIASTHMATIC.

Sharing is caring!