Abstract

Since solubility is the main constraint for oral bioavailability of silymarin, an attempt has been made to design tablet formulations of silymarin-HP-β -CD solid dispersion in order to improve oral bioavailability. Tablet formulations were prepared by direct compression technique using superdisintegrants such as crosscarmellose sodium, sodium starch glycolate and polyplasdone XL in different concentrations. Developed formulations were evaluated for various pharmaceutical characteristics viz. hardness, % friability, weight variation, drug content, disintegration time and in vitro dissolution profiles. Amongst different batches, formulations containing crosscarmellose sodium showed superior disintegration and dissolution profiles compared to other formulations. However all the formulations showed improved dissolution over marketed formulation reflecting vital role of HP-β -CD dispersion in promotion of silymarin oral bioavailability. Moreover, optimized formulation showed stability at varying temperature and relative humidity.