What question did this study set out to answer?

The study aims to assess the disintegrant capability of Lentinus tuber-regium (LT) in paracetamol tablet formulations.

April 1, 2026Open Access

The Study of the Incorporation Methods of Excipients (Lentinus Tuber Regium) Used in Paracetamol Tablets Formulation

Key Points

The study aims to assess the disintegrant capability of Lentinus tuber-regium (LT) in paracetamol tablet formulations.
Paracetamol tablets were prepared using wet granulation with LT powders incorporated as intragranular (IG) or extragranular (EG).
Three LT powder treatments were investigated: native, boiled, and palm wine-soaked.
Granules and tablets were evaluated according to density, flow properties, hardness, disintegration time, and dissolution profile.
Statistical analyses included one-way ANOVA and t-tests with a significance level of α = 0.05.
Processed LT powders (boiled, palm wine-soaked) showed better flowability and compressibility than native LT.
EG tablets disintegrated faster (<2 min) than IG tablets (<5 min) and had superior dissolution performance.
SPLT (3.0% w/w) achieved a peak release of 64.0% by 10 min, maintaining sustained release through 30 min.
EG formulations outperformed IG ones, with SPLT and SSG exhibiting similar peak disintegration performance.

Abstract

Background: Tablets remain the dominant solid oral dosage form worldwide due to their convenience, stability, precise dosing, and patient acceptability. Superdisintegrants are essential excipients in immediate-release formulations, promoting rapid tablet disintegration and drug release. Synthetic superdisintegrants (croscarmellose sodium, crospovidone, sodium starch glycolate) are effective but expensive, imported, and non-biodegradable, posing economic and sustainability challenges in resource-limited settings like Nigeria. Natural alternatives from locally abundant sources are increasingly explored to address these limitations. Objective: This study investigated the disintegrant performance of Lentinus tuber-regium (LT) powder in paracetamol tablets, comparing intragranular (IG) and extragranular (EG) incorporation methods using native (NLT), boiled (BLT), and palm wine-soaked (SPLT) LT powders against sodium starch glycolate (SSG) as the standard. Methods: Paracetamol tablets were prepared by wet granulation with LT powders (3.0%, 7.0%, 10.0% w/w) incorporated either IG or EG. Granules and tablets were evaluated for density, flow properties, weight uniformity, hardness, friability, disintegration time, and dissolution profile using pharmacopoeial methods. Statistical analysis included one-way ANOVA and t-tests (α = 0.05). Results: Processed LT powders (BLT, SPLT) exhibited superior flowability and compressibility compared to NLT. EG tablets showed faster disintegration (<2 min) than IG tablets (<5 min) and superior dissolution (peak release 64.0% at 3.0% w/w SPLT by 10 min, sustained through 30 min). EG formulations outperformed IG in drug release, with SPLT and SSG achieving comparable peak performance (64.0%). All tablets met USP standards for weight uniformity and friability. Conclusion: Extragranular incorporation of processed Lentinus tuber-regium powder significantly enhances disintegrant performance in paracetamol tablets, offering a sustainable, cost-effective, locally sourced alternative to synthetic superdisintegrants. The findings support further development and scale-up of LT-based excipients for pharmaceutical manufacturing in Nigeria.

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