FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF TABLETS CONTAINING AQUEOUS LEAF EXTRACT OF MOMORDICA BALSAMINA LINN (CUCURBITACEAE) FOR ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY

Drugs obtained from natural or synthetic sources are not administered to patients in their crude form but in various dosage forms such as gaseous, liquid, semi-solid and solid dosage forms. They are usually presented in a form which is stable, effective, efficacious and acceptable to the consumers. The aim of this study was to formulate the aqueous leaf extract of Momordica balsamina as tablets for oral use, and evaluate the properties of the tablets. The dried leaves were reduced to powder using pestle and mortar. The powder was subjected to extraction with distilled water. The extract was granulated and the granules evaluated for their flow properties. The granules were further formulated into tablets, and the tablet properties evaluated for their physicomechanical properties. The yield was 21% and the granules had good flow properties. The tablets had good physicomechanical properties and best stored in airtight containers.