Use of carboxymethylcellulose as release modifier of a medicinal plant extract

GALLO, LOREANA; PIÑA, JULIANA; BUCALÁ, VERÓNICA; ALLEMANDI, DANIEL; RAMÍREZ RIGO, VERÓNICA

Bahía Blanca

Simposio; SAP 2011: IX Simposio Argentino de Polímeros; 2011

CCT-CONICET BAHIA BLANCA-UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DEL SUR

The aim of the present work was to develop a spray dried co-processed material based on a medicinal plant extract, a hydrophilic polymer and a drying adjuvant with good flow properties for direct compression and useful as a modified release system. Hamamelis virginiana was selected as a model plant medicinal extract. H. virginiana is used in the treatment of the chronic pathology Varicose Vein Disease, which affects one out of two people age 50 and older (http://www.nlm.nih.gov). The tannins presents in H. virginiana leaves have venotonic properties (EMEA, 2009). The development of a matricial system that slowly delivers the H. virginiana extract could improve the security and efficacy of this phytotherapy applied in the treatment of varicose vein disease chronic pathology. The scalable spray drying technology allowed the production of powders containing H. virginiana extract with good flow properties for direct compression. The selected operating conditions and the use of CSD in the liquid dispersions as drying adjuvant gave extract powders with low moisture content. The obtained process yields were related to the liquid dispersions viscosity, mainly determined by the grade of the utilized hydrophilic polymer (CMC). For the MV CMC, the extract release rate was modulated by the percentage of polymer in the powder. Summarizing, the MV CMC, at low concentrations, proved to be a suitable polymer for controlling the release of the selected medicinal plant extract from the compacts containing the co-processed spray dried powder with good flow properties for DC, low moisture content and high process yield.