RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Micromeritic properties
The results of the micromeritic properties of paracetamol
granules formulated with varying ratios of rice and corn
starch co-precipitate are shown in Table 2. The results
show that the granules exhibited good flowability and the
values obtained are within acceptable limit for the
production of good quality tablets. The results of flow
rate showed that the granules had good flow. The angle
of repose in all the batches ranged from 17.22 to 26.84 o
therefore, the granules exhibited low interparticulate
friction and hence good flowability. The results of bulk
and tapped densities showed that the granules exhibited
low bulk and tapped densities and therefore possess good
powder fluidity. The results of Hausner’s ratio showed
that the values obtained ranged from 1.14 to 1.29. The
results of compressibility indices of the paracetamol
granules showed that the granules had percent
compressibility index that ranged from 13.64 to 22.22 %
and hence exhibited good flowability.
Angle of repose measures the degree of interparticulate
friction within the particles. And values below 30o denote
good flowability. From the results, the granules exhibited
angle of repose significantly below 30o (p < 0.05).
Hausner’s ratio less than or equal to 1.25 indicates goodflow, while Hausner’s ration greater than 1. 25 indicate
poor flow. Therefore, the granules were within the
specified limits for good flow. Also, Carr’s index of 5 – 16
indicates good flow, while 18 – 23 shows fair flow.
Therefore, the granules exhibited good flowability 13-14
.
Tablets properties
Uniformity of tablets weight
The results of tablets weight uniformity tests showed that
all the paracetamol tablets formulated passed the
uniformity of weight test and deviations obtained
complied with BP specifications of not more than 5 % for
tablets weighing more than 250 mg 15. Tablets weight
uniformity test is important because variation in tablet
weight causes variation in drug content. Weight variation
could be caused by factors that affect flowability and
granules densification behaviours which could be a
function of granule shape, particle size of granules and
size distribution, particle density and interparticle
cohesion among others.
Tablets hardness
The results of tablets hardness showed that all the tablets
passed the test for crushing strength, the tablets
hardness ranged from 5.97 ± 1.26 to 6.66 ± 1.28 kgf for
A1 and A3 tablets, while the reference showed hardness
of 7.46±1.74 kgf, significantly different from paracetamol
tablets formulated with starch co-precipitate as
disintegrant. The results of tablets hardness presented in
Table 3 also showed that the tablets exhibited good
hardness properties and passed the test for tablets
hardness. However, the reference batch containing Ac-disol
exhibited higher hardness properties more than the
test tablets (p < 0.05). However, tablet hardness may be a
function of the physical properties of granule such as
hardness of the granules and deformation under load
which may be affected by the type and quantity of binder
and lubricant and compression pressure.
Results of tablets friability showed that all the
paracetamol tablets passed the friability test with
friability of ≤ 1 %, however, batch A2 exhibited friability
result of 2.32 %. Friability test measures the resistance of
tablets to abrasion 16. From the results of tablets friability
presented in Table 3, all the batches of paracetamol
tablets passed the test of friability. Therefore, the tablets
can withstand shock or vibrations during handling,
packaging and transportation.