Evaluation of Cochorus Olitorious Derived Polymer as an Excipient in Micro/Nano Suspension Formulation of Metronidazole

Abstract

Crude C.olitorious gum was extracted by the Soxhlet extraction method then subjected to microbial, elemental and proximate analysis. From the microbial analysis, the amount of microorganism obtained after 24 hours culture in a plate count agar was 0.25 x 103 .This level of growth could be related to non-sterility and the environmental conditions under which the raw material was processed, of which in some cases the leaves were air dried. Elemental composition of the gum includes magnesium (5402mg/kg), calcium (5267mg/kg), iron (1435mg/kg), sodium (2145mg/kg, zinc (120mg/kg) and lead (nil). This result indicates that the gum is free from deleterious materials such as lead and other similar materials. The acute toxicity test on the C. olitorious gum using animal species indicated no death after two weeks of observation showing that the gum and materials used for extraction are compatible with the animal physiological system. Purification by centrifugation of the crude C.olitorious gum was  carried out after preliminary analysis and the purified gum expunged from the supernatant layer using organic solvent (acetone). The percentage yield of the purified gum from the crude gum was 20.0%w/w depicting the presence of about 80% of other chemical and extraneous materials in the crude C. olitorious gum.