The raft forming chewable tablets of curcumin for stomach specific delivery

Curcumin has been widely used in healthcare for a long time because of the promising pharmacological activities and good safety profile. However, its poor aqueous solubility and rapid metabolism are major challenges in designing a suitable dosage form. Novel raft forming chewable tablets incorporating curcumin-Eudragit® EPO solid dispersions are developed to deliver the curcumin in stomach for treatment of gastric ulcers. The solvent evaporation method was used for preparing the curcumin-Eudragit® EPO solid dispersions. Then, the curcumin-Eudragit® EPO solid dispersions were incorporated in raft forming chewable tablets compressed by direct compression method. The developed raft forming chewable tablets were orange in colour, with a convex surface. They floated within 5 to 14 s and maintain floating more than 24h in acidic medium. The amount of curcumin released was between 40 to 70% in 8h depending on the tablet composition. The selected formulation mainly comprises 100 mg of sodium alginate, 50 mg of calcium carbonate, 90 mg of curcumin solid dispersion and other tablet excipients. This study demonstrates the successful development of the novel raft forming chewable tablets containing curcumin solid dispersions as a promising carrier for a stomach-specific delivery of lipophilic compounds.

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