Formulation Design and In vitro Evaluation of a Pitavastatin-containing Orodispersible Tablet as a Potential Cholesterol-lowering Remedy

Orodispersible tablets ODT have been developed to resolve the issues of conventional oral formulations as well as to increase the bioavailability of the drugs. The focus of this research was to develop and evaluate the ODT using synthetic (croscarmellose sodium) or natural super-disintegrating agents for the fast release of pitavastatin. The natural super-disintegrating agent was isolated from the seeds of Ocimum basilicum, commonly known as sweet basil (SB). The SB mucilage (SBM) and croscarmellose sodium-containing formulations facilitate the disintegration of the tablets in less than 50 s. The pre- and post-compression parameters of the tablet prepared from these two agents are comparable and without any significant difference. The maximum drug was released from all the formulations within the standard time. The SEM images revealed the porous nature of the tablet surface. Results indicated that the SBM can be used as an alternative material to the synthetic material as an efficient super-disintegrating agent.