Abstract

Objective: Ondansetron hydrochloride belongs to the class of 5HT3 antagonists. It is approved by United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) to control chemotherapyinduced nausea and vomiting. The oral bioavailability of ondansetron is approximately 60%, indicating first pass metabolism. The present research work was carried out with an objective to increase the bioavailability of the drug ondansetron hydrochloride by developing its mouth dissolving film using taro gum in combination with HPMC E5.

Method: Solvent precipitation method was used for extraction of polysaccharide. Polysaccharide (Taro gum) was extracted from tubers of Colocassia esculenta which was used as a polymer in film formulation. Films were formulated using solvent casting method. Xanthan gum, guar gum, sodium alginate, gum ghati and taro gum were used as polymer in film formulation. Concentration for taro gum was optimized. At this optimized concentration, films were formulated using other commercially available natural gums. These films were evaluated for various parameters like tensile strength, disintegration time, In vitro release and stability.

Result: All the formulated films showed disintegration time less than 60 s. The film formulated using taro gum showed better release profile, disintegration time and tensile strength than the films prepared using other commercially available gums. Taro film showed 90.64% release at the end of 5 min. Disintegration time of films prepared using taro gum was comparable to that of marketed film. Also, the film prepared using taro gum was more stable as compared to other films.

Conclusion: Taro gum being extracted from edible tubers is non-toxic in nature. It can be extracted easily and successfully used in the development of mouth dissolving film of Ondansetron hydrochloride.

Keywords: Mouth dissolving film; Natural polymers; Ondansetron hydrochloride