FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF MORINGA EXTRACT TABLETS FOR NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT

The present study was aimed at the formulation and evaluation of Moringa extract tablets as a nutritional supplement. Moringa leaves were dried, powdered, and extracted using suitable solvent extraction method. The obtained extract was formulated into tablets by direct compression technique using excipients such as microcrystalline cellulose, sodium starch glycolate, talc, magnesium stearate, and aspartame. Different formulations (F1–F4) were prepared and evaluated for pre-compression parameters including angle of repose, bulk density, tapped density, Carr’s index, and Hausner’s ratio. The formulated tablets were further evaluated for post-compression parameters such as weight variation, hardness, thickness, friability, disintegration time, drug content, and dissolution studies. Among all formulations, formulation F2 showed satisfactory physicochemical characteristics with acceptable hardness, low friability, uniform weight variation, and rapid disintegration time. Dissolution studies revealed that formulation F2 exhibited better drug release profile compared to other formulations, showing maximum release within the specified time period. The results indicated that F2 was the optimized formulation and the developed Moringa extract tablets can be effectively used as a nutritional supplement with improved patient compliance and acceptable tablet characteristics. Keywords: Moringa Extract, FTIR Studies, Direct compression technique, In vitro drug release studies.