Abstract
The main objective of this research was to introduce and evaluate the disintegrant property of natural excipient like starch from unripe fruits of Papaya when used in tablet formulation. Pharmaceutical excipients developed from natural sources are economic. The unripe fruit of Papaya has high level of starch content and hence can be used as a raw material for starch isolation. Starch was isolated from green unripe papaya fruits using 0.5 N NaOH as Lye solution. Isolated starch was evaluated and used as a disintegrant in formulation of tablet using diclofenac sodium as model drug by wet granulation method. Studies indicate that starch so obtained is qualitatively and quantitatively comparable to Corn starch. The disintegration time of formulated tablet was evaluated as per Indian Pharmacopoeia and was compared with marketed tablets. These tablets also conformed to the disintegration and dissolution specifications of Indian Pharmacopoeia. Results from various evaluations suggested that Carica papaya starch showed adequate disintegrating characteristics and could be used as disintegrant in tablet formulation.
