Microcrystalline cellulose extracted from Ecuadorian native plants as an excipient for solid dosage formulations in drug delivery

Excipients represent the complement of the active principle in any pharmaceutical form. Their function is to provide stability, protection, and ensure the absorption of the drug and acceptability in patients. In Ecuador, most of the raw materials used to fabricate medicines are imported, including active principles, excipients, and even packing material. As plants are considered the primary source of excipient production, we have taken advantage of Ecuador's biodiversity to evaluate microcrystalline cellulose extracted from native plants as an excipient for solid dosage formulations in drug delivery. The method of choice for tablet manufacturing was direct compression, as it is the simpler and most convenient. First of all, we performed SEM, FITR, and XRD to compare the structure and characteristics of the samples. The quality tests that were used to evaluate the excipients included fluidity, hardness, friability, disintegration, and release time. Compared to commercial cellulose and microcrystalline cellulose, extracted cellulose showed comparable characteristics and is, consequently, a potential excipient that could be used in the pharmaceutical industry in Ecuador. To complete the comparison of our cellulose with commercial ones, we performed a dissolution test in which we concluded that all tablets have a short release time, and ours gave an immediate liberation of the active principle.