Excipients represent the complement of the active principle in any pharmaceutical form.\nTheir function is to provide stability, protection, and to ensure absorption of the drug and acceptability\nin patients. Cellulose is a conventional excipient in many pharmaceutical solid dosage products.\nMost of the sources used to extract microcrystalline cellulose come from cotton or wood, which\nare expensive and in high demand from other industries. As plants are considered the main\nsource of excipient production, we have taken advantage of the biodiversity of Ecuador to evaluate\nmicrocrystalline cellulose extracted from borojó (Alibertia patinoi), a native plant, as an excipient for\nsolid dosage formulations. The method of choice for tablet manufacturing was direct compression\nsince it is a conventional fabrication method in the pharmaceutical industry. First, we performed\nscanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and X-ray\ndiffraction (XRD) in order to compare the structure and characteristics of the extracted cellulose\nwith two reference commercial cellulose materials. Second, we performed quality tests to evaluate\nthe use of the isolate as an excipient including fluidity, hardness, friability, and disintegration.\nCompared with commercial and microcrystalline cellulose, the extracted cellulose from the native\nplant showed comparable characteristics and is consequently a potential excipient that could be used\nin the pharmaceutical industry. Last, we performed a dissolution test in which we concluded that all\ntablets have a short release time of active principle.\nKeywords: pharmaceutical excipient; cellulose; tablets; drug
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