Effects of Food Thickeners on Disintegration of Tablets: Comparison between Xanthan- and Guar-Gum Food Thickeners

Abstract

　People who suffer from dysphagia (inability or refusal to swallow) sometimes use food thickeners to ease taking medicines. Upon immersion, food thickeners attach to the tablet surface and penetrate them. In doing so, the food thickeners sometimes cause disintegration delay or non-disintegration, which reduces the drug efficacy. Although xanthan- and guar-gum are often used as food thickeners, the effect of these thickeners on tablet disintegration is poorly understood. In this study, we compared the effects of xanthan- and guar-gum-based food thickeners on the disintegration of nine rapid disintegrating oral tablets. Of these, the disintegration time of two tablets differed between the two different food thickeners, with one tablet showing a longer time in the guar-gum-based thickener and the other showing a longer time in the xanthan-gum based thickener; however, the disintegration time of the remaining seven tablets was similar in both food thickeners. In conclusion, the results suggest that tablet disintegration delay may be related to both the food thickener type and tablet properties.