Shelf-Life of Formulated Herbal Liquid Dosage Forms of Picralima nitida Seed Extracts for Anti-hyperglycaemic Indication doi.org/10.26538/tjnpr/v5i5.22

Abstract

Herbal remedies are widely used all over the world as alternative to conventional medicine. Picralima nitida has gained medicinal importance because of its use for treating wide range of ailments. Preliminary studies showed that its seeds and pods have hypoglycaemic effects in albino wistar rats. The aim of this study was to subject the dosage forms of the plant materials to stability studies using conventional method to establish their shelf life. The powdered dry seeds of Picralima nitida were extracted with 95% ethanol. The pod’s pulp obtained after the removal of the seeds was dried and powdered. The products were prepared into conventional dosage forms; oral solution (500 mg/kg) and suspension (500 mg/kg) were compared against standard glucose-lowering drugs, glibenclamide (0.07mg/kg) and metformin (7.20 mg/kg) for their hypoglycaemic activities. The formulations were subjected to stability studies under stress conditions of temperature. The oral solutions produced from the ethanol seed extract reduced postprandial blood glucose in the rats by an average of 14.0% within 2 h of administration. The oral suspension reduced postprandial blood glucose by an average of 29.2% within 6 h. The suspension was followed in performance by glibenclamide (24.2%), metformin (19.0%) and lastly, the oral solution of the seed extract (14.0%) in that order.The shelf-life values of the oral solution and suspension are 6.0 and 5.5 weeks respectively at 27oC. These shelf-life values are encouraging considering the herbal nature and the aqueous environment of the formulation.