Objective- The release of drug is affected by various excipients presents in formulation. In case of tablets the role of binders is very important for release of drug. Thus in following study an attempt is made to improve the solubility and dissolution rate of a drug by use of natural excipients (Guava Starch). Methods-The unripe fruit of guava has high content of starch and hence it can be used as a material for extraction of starch. Then the extracted starch was evaluated and used as a binder in different concentrations, in famotidine tablets. The tablets were formulated by wet granulation method by using 2% w/v, 4% w/v, 6% w/v and 8% w/v of guava starch. Then formulated famotidine tablets were further evaluated for various parameters i.e. weight variation, hardness, friability, disintegration time and in-vitro drug release. Results-The starch obtained is qualitatively and quantitatively comparable to known standard starch. The hardness and disintegration time of the tablets was found to be increased with increase in starch concentration. Tablets with highest binder concentration showed maximum hardness (6.0 kg) and disintegration time (7.4 min) and minimum friability (0.76%). After one hour tablets with 4% w/v starch showed maximum drug release (83.54%). Conclusion- The results from various evaluations show that guava starch has significant binding characteristics. Hence it can be used as tablet binder in pharmaceutical formulations.
