FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF A NEW HERBAL TABLET FROM STRAWBERRY AND GRAPE LEAVES

Liver is the largest organ of the body, with several major functions. Increased consumption of chemicals (e.g. alcohol, bleach, preservatives, colorings, etc) and pharmaceuticals lead to a large number of liver diseases. Symptoms of liver malfunction include sudden exhaustion, bad taste in the mouth, loss of appetite, distaste foods, irritability or a general feeling of unhealthiness. There are a few herbal products from Fragaria vesca and Vitis vinifera as chewable tablets form in the market that are used as metabolic stimulator and as a treatment for all chronic inflammatory and degenerative liver conditions.

The leaves of grape and wild strawberry were collected, identified and dried. The content of anthocyanins present in the powdered leaves was measured based on a spectrophotometric differential pH method. To prepare chewable tablet (HepatoHeal), the same amount of powdered leaves of two plants (40 mg) was mixed to filler (mannitol or lactose) and granulated using wet granulation method. The resultant tablets were evaluated for hardness, friability, disintegration time, drug content uniformity, drug release test and organoleptic properties.

The assay showed that the content of anthocyanin in grape and strawberry leaves were 0.082(w/w) % and 0.039(w/w) %, respectively. The mean weight, friability, hardness, and disintegration time of selected formulation were 262 mg, 0.23%, 59.7 N and 22.6 min, respectively. The content of active ingredient (based on anthocyanin) was 44.8 mg and the content uniformity of the selected tablet was 42.8 mg.  Percent of the drug released after 30 and 60 min was 76 % and 97 % respectively.

The selected formulation of HepatoHeal tablet has acceptable physicochemical features and may be considered as a herbal medication for some chronic inflammatory and degenerative liver disorders.