Development of Astaxanthin Orodispersible Tablet for Elderly Prepared by Direct Compression

Abstract

Oral dispersible tablets (ODTs) is an innovative dosage forms fabricated to overcome the problem of difficulty in swallowing. This is a common problem of all age groups, especially elderly group. This study aimed to develop and evaluate ODTs loaded Astaxanthin preparing by direct compression technique in different types of co-processed excipient, including F-Melt^® Type C, F-Melt^® Type M and Pearlitol Flash^®. The physical properties of the formulated tablets were evaluated such as hardness, thickness, diameter, friability, moisture content, in-vitro disintegration time and in-vitro dissolution. At the similar level of the compression time and force, the tablets which were prepared by family of F-Melt proposed high compatibility and flow properties. Among all the studied formulation, the ODTs loaded Astaxanthin preparing by using 40 mg of F-Melt^®C or M as the co-processed excipient provided proper ODT properties. The optimized formulation offered 35.33 – 59.66 N of the tablet hardness, 0.35-0.55% of friability, 0.20-0.80% of moisture content, 20.33 – 84.33 seconds of disintegration time. Lastly, 80% of Astaxanthin is released within the first 3 minutes.