Formulation and Evaluation of Oral Reconstitutable Suspension of Aqueous Moringa oleifera Lam Root Extract

Abstract

Background: Moringa oleifera Lam in crude form is employed for preventive or curative purposes in various ailments. Studies on the formulation of Moringa oleifera tablet and also the use of Moringa oleifera gum as binders have been reported.
Objective: This study is aimed at formulating and assessing the pharmaceutical properties of an oral reconstitutable suspension of aqueous root extract of Moringa oleifera Lam, a plant with proven diverse medicinal applications that has not been commercially formulated into liquid dosage form to the best of our knowledge.
Methods: Extract of Moringa oleifera was obtained from the dried roots by maceration and subsequently characterized for moisture content, angle of repose, bulk density, tapped density, Hausner’s ratio, Carr’s index and ash value. The oral reconstitutable suspension was formulated with sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (SCMC) [0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 %] as suspending agent and assessed for sedimentation volume, re-dispersion time, flow rate and dissolution profile.
Results: The results obtained demonstrates that the aqueous root extract of Moringa oleifera had moisture content within acceptable limit for crude drugs with a good flow property supported by the angle of repose, bulk density, tapped density, Hausner’s ratio and Carr’s index while ash value demonstrates the likelihood of inorganic substances in the extract.
Pharmaceutical properties of the suspensions assessed revealed sedimentation volume were high. The suspensions had short re-dispersion time, good flow rate and more than 70 % of the active ingredient was released within the first 30 minutes.
Conclusion: The aqueous root extract of Moringa oleifera can therefore be formulated as an oral reconstitutable suspension using SCMC as a suspending agent at concentrations between 0.5 to 1.5 %.

Keywords: Formulation, Reconstitutable suspension, Aqueous extract and Moringa oleifera Lam root