Formulation and Evaluation of Sustained Release Matrix Tablet of Atenolol Based on Natural Polymer

The purpose of the present investigation was to develop sustained release matrix tablets of Atenolol (ATL) using Xanthan gum (XG) and Guar gum (GG) as matrix former. Different ratios of XG and GG were selected and their suitability was tested as drug carrier. A natural gum Jeol (JG) was used as binder and its effect on hardness and drug release profile of prepared tablets were examined. The in-vitro drug release studies were performed in 0.1N HCl for 2 h followed by phosphate buffer at pH 6.8. The drug release profiles reveal that the release is dependent upon the nature and concentration of the polymer. The matrix tablets composed of XG showed 20.64% drug release during 2h in the acid stage, whereas for XG-GG mixture tablets, it was 27.96% to 39.26%. The addition of JG was found to increase the hardness of the tablets. The dissolution data demonstrated that JG has significant influence on drug release from XG matrix whereas insignificant effect was observed in XG-GG mixture. Statistical analysis of the drug release data at 2h indicated that the drug release is significantly ( *** p<0.0001) affected by the nature and concentration of the polymers as compared to marketed product Aten®.