ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MUCILAGE FROM THE FRUIT PULP OF FERONIA LIMONIA

Abstract

Development of new excipients is time consuming, involves tedious procedures and is highly expensive. Instead, identification of new uses for the existing substances is relatively inexpensive and less time consuming. The intention of present study was designed for isolation and characterization of mucilage from the fruit pulp of Feronia limonia and explores its use as pharmaceutical excipient. Mucilage was isolated by maceration technique using distilled water and precipitated with acetone as a non-solvent. The isolated mucilage was investigated for purity by carrying out chemical tests for different phytochemical constituents and only carbohydrates were found to be present. The mucilage was further characterized for physical and flow properties. It had good swelling index (19.16) and pH was found to be 4.25. The mucilage powder had poor flow property and loose packing arrangement. The Fourier transform infrared (FT- IR) spectroscopic study revealed that the mucilage has characteristic peaks. From the study, it indicates that Feronia limonia mucilage powder has satisfactory pH and physicochemical properties, which can be used as pharmaceutical excipient in formulating various dosage forms.