Topic > The term tablet, its excipients and coating

Tablets are pharmaceutical dosage forms composed of a mixture of an active therapeutic ingredient and excipients prepared by granulation or compression which are intended to provide the body with pharmacological action desired. It is taken orally, the most convenient route of administration. Excipients are added to solid dosage forms for the purpose of long-term stabilization and regarding the manufacturing process; it helps the tablet to remain intact when handling the active ingredient (Nagashree, 2015). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Excipients include: diluents which are normally used as fillers which are added to increase the mass of the tablet, binders which are used to hold the tablet the components together until the target site is reached, lubricants which prevent the tablets from sticking to dies and punches while glidants reduce friction and therefore promote the free flow of granules or powder. Coloring agents are also excipients that are used to improve the appearance of the tablets while sweetening and flavoring agents improve their taste. Finally, one of the main excipients added to help break down the tablet at the site of action is known as disintegrants (Nagashree, 2015). Coating is an additional step in tablet production. It is the process of compressing a layer of granules around a tablet. The coating has been widely used as a protective barrier and to manage drug release from the dosage form to the target site, with the aim of delaying or prolonging drug release. The nature of the coating can be simple or complex. A plain coating consists of a thin film of paint applied to a tablet to make it dust-free and provide a smooth finish. A complex coating may consist of an inner and outer shell that encloses different types of drugs that may be incompatible with the gastric mucosal environment or that need to be released at a specific target site and at a specific time (MD. Saiful Islam et al, 2016). The coating of the tablet occurs after making a good tablet. It has distinct functions and purposes in tablet formulation, however, the coating pattern may vary. For this reason, tablet coatings are used to protect therapeutic active ingredients and excipients from the environment and prevent light and moisture, mask the unpleasant taste of uncoated tablets and improve product identity (MD. Saiful Islam et al, 2016 ). There are numerous drugs which, if exposed directly to the gastric mucosa, cause gastric irritation and, in some cases, actual corrosion of the gastric wall. Such drugs are enteric-coated to protect individuals who take them from their harmful side effects. Enteric coatings also protect drugs from degradation. Some drugs are unstable when released into the stomach and can cause unwanted reactions. Therefore, other reasons have emerged to introduce enteric coating to better deliver drugs that are absorbed from a region of the intestine, to provide a delayed component for repeat-acting dosage forms, and to prevent interactions of certain drugs with pepsin and peptones which could lead to an obstacle to gastric digestion (Tarcha, 1990). Enteric-coated tablets are also known as delayed-release tablets. One enteric-coated tablet remains, 2017).