FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF METFORMIN HYDROCHLORIDE MICROPARTICLES BY EMULSION SOLVENT EVAPORATION TECHNIQUE

Metformin HCl-loaded microparticles of ethyl cellulose were prepared by the emulsion solvent evaporation technique. The aim of this work was to investigate the influence of process variation in polymer type via viscosity grades of ethyl cellulose E1and E10 and drug to polymer ratio on the micromeritic properties. Microparticles evaluated for various characteristic properties such as encapsulation efficiency, particle size & size distribution, surface morphology and drug release pattern. The optimized formulation parameters were used to prepare porous, spherical micro particles (67 μm to 127 μm) with high encapsulation efficiency (93 to 97%). Drug release over a period of 12 hrs ranged from 85.7 % to 98.3 %. Microspheres were more spherical in shape in their manufacture with ethyl cellulose E10 and higher ratio of both polymers. Thus, in the case of ethyl cellulose, the viscosity and ratio of the polymer in dispersion medium were found to be the controlling factors of drug release. Key words: Metformin, Ethyl cellulose, micro particles, sustained release, encapsulation efficiency

Screening of selected aromatic plants belonging to Labiateae and Verbenaceae family for their antimicrobial activity

The present study aimed that 17 plant species belonging to Lamiaceae and Verbenaceae families were screened for their antimicrobial activity. The crude extracts of root, stem, leaf, inflorescence and whole plant were prepared in n-Hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and D/W and tested against six gram positive and six gram negative bacteria by agar well diffusion method and the zone of inhibition was measured. The MIC value was examined by the twofold serial broth dilution method. The results showed that Bacillus cereus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens and Enterococcus faecalis were found to be most susceptible organism. The n-hexane crude extracts inhibited the growth of Klebsiella pneumonia (91.17%), Bacillus cereus and Serratia marcescens (88.23%), ethyl acetate extract Enterococcus faecalis (85.29%), Bacillus cereus (82.35%) while methanolic extract found to inhibit the growth of Bacillus cereus (76.47%). Least to no activity was found in D/W extract. Salmonella paratyphi, Escherichia coli, Micrococcus luteus were found to most resistant organism for all tested crude plant extracts. The MIC values were observed in the range of >8 mg/ml to 0.25 mg/ml of selected crude plant extracts against tested organisms. HPTLC finger printing and TLC-bioautography of certain active extracts demonstrated the presence of common phytochemical compound in plant extracts. The results obtained in present study suggested that these plant extracts can be a source of active principle for antibacterial activity