Evaluation of Aloe elegans Mucilage as a Suspending Agent in Paracetamol Suspension

There are various natural excipients which have been used as suspending agents in pharmaceutical suspensions due to the presence of mucilage in their specialized cells and their capacity to form a colloidal gel in an aqueous medium.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the suspending capacity of Aloe elegans mucilage in suspension formulations.

Aloe elegans mucilage (AEM) was evaluated as a suspending agent in comparison with xanthan gum (XG) in paracetamol suspensions at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5% (w/v) concentrations. The resulting suspensions were evaluated for their sedimentation volume, apparent viscosity, flow rate, rate of redispersibility, pH, assay, and dissolution profile.

The volume of sedimentation, apparent viscosity, and redispersibility rate of the formulations were significantly increased (p < 0.05), with the concentration of the suspending agents. Meanwhile, the apparent viscosity for all formulations has significantly decreased (p < 0.05) with an increase in shear rates. Volume of sedimentation, apparent viscosity, and redispersibility degree of the formulations prepared with AEM were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than XG-containing formulations at the same concentration. Nevertheless, the sedimentation volume of all formulations with AEM was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the suspension without any suspending agent. With regard to drug content and pH values, all formulations showed an acceptable result with the standards. All formulations showed a release of greater than 85% of drug content within 45 min.

Aloe elegans mucilage could have a potential to be utilized as an alternative suspending agent in pharmaceutical suspensions.