Development of Enteric-Coated Herbal Tablets For Targeted Delivery to the Intestine: In Vitro and Ex Vivo Evaluation

The present research is devoted to the growth and testing of enteric-coated gymnema-sylvestre and Curcuma-longa tablets to be used in the treatment of the small intestines. The preparation of tablets is carried out through a wet granulation method and is coated with Eudragit L100 to avoid the degradation of the active phytoconstituents in the gastric tract. In vitro dissolution experiments show that there is low drug release in acidic gastric (1.2 pH) and release that is site specific and sustained in intestinal pH (6.8), as per ex vivo permeation experiments using rat intestinal segments, which indicate controlled and gradual absorption. Comparative study indicates that coated tablets have better gastric stability, delayed intestinal release and higher permeation efficiency as opposed to uncoated tablets. The statistical analysis of the data shows that the release and intestinal permeation differences between drugs are significant (p