Preparation and Evaluation of Oral Thin Films of a Natural Product: Syzygium cumini seed powder

Aim of this project is to develop oral thin films of Syzygium cumini seed powder. Though there were chewable tablets of Syzygium cumini reported in the literature, it has been chosen to formulate oral thin films of Syzygium cumini seed powder as they are expected to be more accepted by pediatrics, over the chewable tablets. Because of its high health benefits, these dosage forms have a potential to be nutraceuticals. Various phyto constituents present in the Syzygium cumini seed powder were screened through phytochemical screening. Four different formulations of oral thin films have been developed out of which two were optimized. Oral thin films were formulated with Syzygium cumini as the active ingredient and hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose, sodium alginate, glucose, guar gum, stevia, polyethylene glycol, water and dichloromethane were used as excipients. Different evaluation studies were performed for the oral thin films. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis was performed for the oral thin films to check the interactions between the active ingredients and the excipients. Antibacterial activity of the oral thin films was performed against two different bacterial species viz, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. It is concluded that the developed oral thin films were depicting antibacterial activity. Keywords: Syzygium cumini, oral films, natural product, nutraceuticals, anti-bacterial activity