Preliminary investigation of Dioclea reflexa seed gum as a food and potential pharmaceutical excipient

The chemical quality of natural gum determines its functionality and safe use. This study was to characterize some physicochemical properties and microbial load of gum obtained from Dioclea reflexa seed (DR), which has a history of folkloric use as a soup thickener in eastern Nigeria. The gum was extracted by aqueous maceration of DR. The microbial load was determined using the pour plate technique. The extract was screened for phytochemical constituents and analyzed for elemental content using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Also, the morphology was viewed using SEM. The phytochemical screening indicated the presence of carbohydrates, starch, and simple sugars. The total viable aerobic bacterial and fungal counts were 2.0 x 101 and 1.0 x 100 (CFU/mL), respectively. The SEM micrograph showed that the polymer microstructure had dense and smooth surfaces, a property that has been associated with polysaccharides. The AAS elemental analysis showed the presence of several metals in the sample: Fe, Pb, Zn, Cd, Mg, Ca, and Na, in amounts generally within WHO permissible limits, except for Pb and Cd, whose levels were slightly above. The SEM analysis also showed the presence of K, Ca, Mg, Al, P, S, Na, and a preponderance of C and O. The presence of heavy metals could be associated with environmental pollution. DR gum's nature and chemical constituents present it as a potential food and pharmaceutical additive. Further studies should be done to validate the findings

A novel formulation design based on hetero-templated solid lipid microparticles to improve the solubility of anti-inflammatory piroxicam for oral administration

The aim of the work was to formulate piroxicam-loaded solid lipid microparticles (SLMs) using natural biodegradable lipids and to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo properties of the formulations. The lipid matrix composition consisted of 1 : 2 ratios of dika wax from Irvingia gabonensis and goat fat or beeswax. Varying amounts of the drug (0.5, 0.25 and 0.1%) were loaded into the SLMs. The SLMs were formulated using a melt homogenization method and analysed using animal model standard methods. In vivo anti-inflammatory studies were performed using Wistar rats and showed stable formulations with spherical particles within the range of 35 +/- 0.577 to 50 +/- 1.527 mu m. The encapsulation efficiency (EE) ranged from 43.20% to 89.03% and was significantly affected by the amount of drug loaded (p < 0.05). The formulations also exhibited a stable pH from 24 h to 2 months, meaning that there was no degradation of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and the excipients. The in vitro drug release increased with the amount of drug loaded with an approximately 86% release at 600 min for formulations containing 0.5% drug, and 24% for formulations with 0.1% drug. Absorption of the SLMs was enhanced compared with a market formulation and the SLMs had better anti-inflammatory properties, which attests to the effects of the lipids at improving the oral absorption of piroxicam. Hence, piroxicam-loaded SLMs are a possible alternative to the current market formulations