Starch is a naturally occurring polymer that is present in many green plants. Its nontoxic and nonirritant properties, as well as low cost, ease of modification, and versatility in use have placed starch in a leading position among polymers used as a pharmaceutical excipient. In many conventional tablets and capsules, starch is used as a diluent, disintegrant, binder, and lubricant. Starch has vital intrinsic properties that have made its pharmaceutical applications possible. It has also been used for a wide range of specialized drug delivery applications, such as delivery of challenging molecules and targeting to specific sites in the body. Although several official native starches with different proprietary identities are available, new sources will continue to evolve with the spate of economic and scientific interest in starch and starch-based products. This review discusses the contemporary trends in the types and application of native starch in conventional drug delivery systems in a world of dynamic drug production technology. It is the authors' opinion that starch will continue to be a material of great value in drug delivery because of its overwhelming intrinsic properties, low cost, versatility in application, and ease of modification.

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The study was aimed at comparatively evaluating the mechanical properties of some brands of artemether -lumefantrine double strength tablet (DST) products. The friability, hardness, disintegration tests, compressive stress, strain, extension and energy release at break of six randomly selected brands of DST products were evaluated using conventional pharmaceutical devices and engineering computerized Instron hardness tester. All the brands of the DST products passed the tablet friability test with values lower than 1% loss while one failed the disintegration test. Three brands exhibited hardness outcomes in the range of 1.30 to 3.26 KgF. Two brands gave energy release of 0.01 J while the others had 0 values at break. The plot of compressive stress and compressive strain for the products produce strikingly different pictogram patterns indicative of variable mechanical characteristics and drug release pattern (P<0.05). The DST formulations exhibited significant differences in their mechanical characteristics at break which could result in possible differences in their bioavailability outcomes (P<0.05). A standard operating procedure (SOP) is required to harmonize the outcomes of the mechanical characteristics of artemether -lumefantrine DST formulations.