STUDIES ON MICROBIALLY TRIGGERED ENTERIC COATED TABLETS FOR COLON TARGETED DELIVERY OF MESALAMINE

The aim of this study is to develop an enteric coated (coated with Eudragit S-100) matrix tablet of Mesalamine to improve the bioavailability by targeting the drug to the colon for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. Matrix tablets were prepared by wet granulation technique by applying 32 full factorial designs for optimization. The independent variables used were amount of guar gum and amount of starch paste, each at three different levels and dependent variables were hardness, percent cumulative drug release (% CDR) study at 5th hr. and time required for 90% of drug release. The prepared matrix tablets were coated with Eudragit S-100. The enteric coated guar gum based matrix tablets of Mesalamine is a potential system to target the drug release in the colon for better treatment of ulcerative colitis.