Directly Compressed Tablets containing Water-insoluble Glucan and Microcrystalline Cellulose in Addition to Lactose

Abstract

In order to investigate the pharmaceutical availability of the water-insoluble glucan produced by Streptococcus mutans, application of the glucan as a filler for directly compressed tablets was studied. The fluidity of combined powder of glucan with lactose was determined and then the hardness and the disintegration properties of directly compressed tablets of these mixtures were studied in comparison with those of tablets containing microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The fluidity of the powder mixture was not much improved by the addition of glucan to lactose. The hardness of tablets containing glucan was higher than that of tablets containing MCC over the concentration range used in this experiment (4-50%). However, the disintegration properties of tablets containing a large amount of glucan were inferior to those of tablets containing the same amount of MCC, as the disintegration took place immediately when the concentration of glucan was lower than 20% but was retarded gradually at glucan levels higher than 25%. The hardness of tablets containing glucan increased with increase in the compressional pressure, but the disintegration properties were not changed. Further, in the dissolution study of ascorbic acid (V.C.) from the tablets, immediate dissolution of V.C. was obtained and no inhibition of dissolution of V.C. by glucan was observed. Overall, these results suggest that the water-insoluble glucan may be practically useful as a filler for directly compressed tablets.