Evaluation of the Quantitative Effects of Variables on a Paracetamol Tablet formulation Prepared with Gum as Binding Agent

The individual and interaction effects of gum - binder type (B), binder concentration (C), as well as the relative density (D) of a paracetamol tablet prepared with Delonix regia seed gum (DRSG), acacia gum BP (ACG) and tragacanth gum BP (TRG) on the mechanical {tensile strength (TS) and brittle fracture index (BF} and disintegration {disintegration time (DT) and crushing strength-friability/disintegration time ratio (CSFR/DT)} properties of the tablets were studied using a 2³ factorial experimental design. For the TRG/ACG and DRSG/ACG, the individual effects of the variables presented a rank order of D>C>B on the two mechanical properties studied, while a rank order of B>C>D was obtained for the studied disintegration properties. However, considering the TRG/DRSG combination, effect of C was more on the DT (C>D>B), whereas D had more effect on the CSFR/DT (D>C>B). Generally, the interaction between B and C was more on TS and DT than on BFI and CSFR/DT, while a similar result was observed for B and D on BFI and CSFR/DT than on TS and DT. This implies that the B is a very important variable to be considered when combining binders in a formulation.