Development of Paracetamol Tablet Formulations Using Phosphate-Pregelatinized Cornstarch as Binders

Starch is an excipient that is often used in tablets, particularly as a binder. However, its binding capabilities require modifications—physical or chemical—to facilitate the production of phosphate- pregelatinized starch. Aims: to use the phosphate-pregelatinized Zea mays starch L as a binder in five formulations of paracetamol tablets. Study design: Experimental Place of Study: Laboratory of Pharmaceutics, Universitas Muhammadiyah Methodology: Zea mays starch was phosphate-pregelatinized using 0.25, 0.30, and 0.35 % Na2HPO4 and then characterized to get an optimum concentration. The five tablet formulations were created using a wet granulation method and phosphate pregelatinized with quantities of 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7%. Results: The characteristics of the phosphate-pregelatinized Zea mays starch met the required specifications, with the highest viscosity of 0.30%. The tablet formulation containing 7% phosphate-pregelatinized starch provided the best results with a diameter of 13 mm, thickness of 0.5 mm, hardness of 5.8 kg, disintegration time of 1.36 min, friability of 0.5%, active content of 101.86%, weight uniformity of 711.5, and dissolution rate of 99.28%. Conclusion: This study concludes that Zea mays starch can be pregelatinized and then phosphate-pregelatinized for further use as a binder in tablet formulations. Additionally, the solubility of the phosphate-pregelatinized starch is much better than that of the unmodified version. An increase in the solubility of starch can subsequently increase the solubility of paracetamol as the active model.