FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF FLURBIPROFEN FAST DISINTEGRATING TABLETS USING NATURAL SUPERDISINTEGRANTS

ABSTRACTObjective: The main objective of this research was to formulate Fast disintegrating tablets of Flurbiprofen incorporating superdisintegrants, isolated from natural sources like Plantago ovata (PO) seeds, Lepidium sativum (LS) seeds and agar-agar.Methods: Superdisintegrants were isolated from their natural sources using reported methods. Swelling index and hydration capacity was determined for the natural superdisintegrants to know their disintegration capacity. The tablet formulations were designed using isolated natural superdisintegrants. The powder blends were evaluated for pre-compressional parameters like angle of repose, bulk density, tapped density, carr's index, and hausner's ratio. Fast disintegrating tablets were prepared by direct compression method. The compressed tablets were characterized for post compression parameters.Results: All formulations had hardness, friability, weight variation and drug content within the pharmacopoeial limits. The wetting time was 84 to 254 sec, in vitro disintegration time was between 59.2 to 221 sec, and in-vitro drug release was as low as 11.80% (LS1) to a maximum of 98.99% (PO4) after 4 min of study. Among all, optimized formulation was PO4, as it showed good wetting time (84 sec), fastest disintegration time (59.2 sec), dispersion time (135 sec) and drug release of 98.99.% within 4 min.Conclusion: Flurbiprofen FDT's were successfully developed using isolated natural disintegrants. The natural disintegrants isolated showed promising results and can prove as effective alternative for synthetic disintegrants

Assessment of insulin injection practice among diabetes patients in a tertiary healthcare centre in Nepal: a preliminary study

Proper insulin injection practice is essential for better diabetic control. This study aims to assess the insulin injection practice of patients with diabetes.A cross-sectional study was conducted at Chitwan Medical College Teaching Hospital, Bharatpur, Nepal, from February 2017 to May 2017. Patients injecting insulin through insulin pens ( = 43) for a minimum of 4 weeks were consecutively recruited. Patients' baseline characteristics, current insulin injection technique, insulin transportation practice, complications of insulin injection, disposal practice of used needle, and acceptability of insulin were recorded. Descriptive statistics were performed using IBM-SPSS 20.0.The insulin injection technique of patients and their relatives was inadequate. The majority of patients and their relatives (25, 58.1%) mentioned that they transport their insulin cartridge without maintaining cold chain. Thirteen patients (30.2%, = 43) reported complications of insulin injection and the most common complication among those patients was bruising (10, 76.9%, = 13). Almost all patients disposed the used needle improperly, and the common method was disposing the needle in a dustbin and then transferring to municipal waste disposal vehicle. Insulin was accepted by just 16 (37.2%) patients.There was a significant gap between the insulin delivery recommendation through insulin pen and current insulin injection practice