ABSTRACT
A locally produced starch from Saudi cultivated corn was evaluated as a tablet excipient and compared with an imported corn starch that is produced internationally and used by a local leading pharmaceutical company. The comparative evaluation included: quality control, physical characterization, viscosity of starch paste, binding properties during granulation and disintegrating power when used in tablet preparation. Theophylline was used as a model drug. The two starches were subjected to evaluation after freeze and spray drying processes. Both starches showed similar particle sizes with poor flowability although the flow properties were in favor of the imported starch. Enhanced flowability was noticed in both starches upon freeze drying and spray drying. Granules prepared by wet granulation using the imported starch were less friable indicating good binding ability compared to the Saudi starch. Interestingly, tablets made from the Saudi starch disintegrated faster and released the drug faster than those made from the imported starch. Thus, it was concluded that although imported starch had more binding capacity than Saudi starch, yet Saudi starch has more disintegrating power and produced immediate drug releasing tablets. These findings may be considered for possible utilization of locally produced Saudi starch as a tablet excipient, in future