ABSTRACT:
Natural polysaccharides are increasingly explored as multifunctional pharmaceutical excipients, yet comparative evidence for locally sourced materials tested within a single tablet system remains limited. This study comparatively evaluated Mimosa pudica mucilage (MPM), autoclave-cooled black glutinous rice starch (ACBGR), and pregelatinized kidney bean starch (PKB) as tablet disintegrants in chlorpheniramine maleate tablets prepared by wet granulation. The three materials were tested at concentrations of 5%, 10%, and 15%, and their effects on granule properties, tablet physical characteristics, disintegration time, and dissolution behavior were investigated. All formulations met the selected physical quality criteria evaluated in this study, including acceptable friability and disintegration time for uncoated tablets. PKB produced the most favorable granule flow properties, with flow rates of 7.56–7.99 g/s and angles of repose of 25.15–25.63°, compared with 4.15–4.80 g/s and 28.14–29.39° for MPM and 3.69–4.25 g/s and 26.73–31.32° for ACBGR. The fastest disintegration was obtained with PKB at 10% and 15%, yielding disintegration times of 1.97 ± 0.31 and 1.75 ± 0.37 min, respectively, whereas the corresponding values for MPM and ACBGR remained substantially higher. Two-way ANOVA performed on batch-level disintegration means showed significant effects of disintegrant type (F(2,18) = 50.94, p < 0.001, partial ?² = 0.850), concentration (F(2,18) = 144.66, p < 0.001, partial ?² = 0.941), and the type-concentration interaction (F(4,18) = 12.23, p < 0.001, partial ?² = 0.731). Tukey’s HSD test further showed that PKB 10% and PKB 15% formed the fastest-disintegrating group and did not differ significantly from one another. The dissolution profiles followed the same general trend, with PKB-based formulations showing the most rapid release behavior. Overall, these findings indicate that pregelatinized kidney bean starch is the most promising disintegrant among the evaluated materials, while MPM and ACBGR remain potential alternative natural excipients that may benefit from further optimization. This study supports the development of locally sourced, cost-effective, and sustainable excipient candidates for tablet formulations.