Formulation of tablets of Xylopia parviflora benth (annonaceae) leaves-a potential antimalarial drug

Abstract

Xylopia species are widely available in West Africa. Xylopia parviflora (Benth) plant is used in folk medicine in the management of a number of ailments, one of these is the use of the leaves in the treatment of malaria fever for which a number of patients have reported its beneficial effects. This study was designed to investigate the possibility of
formulating the dried leaves of Xylopia parviflora (Benth) into tablets for convenience of administration and consistency of dose. The powdered dried leaves were granulated using three binding agents gelatin, maize starch, and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP). The granules were evaluated for size distribution, moisture content and flow properties while the tablets were tested for hardness, friability, disintegration and dissolution. Results show that the flow properties of all batches of granules are good. The tablets met pharmacopoeial requirement for weight uniformity, disintegration time and dissolution rate. But formulations containing PVP possessed poor disintegration
and dissolution properties. Xylopia parviflora leaves a potential anti malarial drug can thus be formulated into tablets. Good tablets are obtained when gelatin or maize starch at 0.4% is employed as a binder