FORMULATION OF ORALLY DISINTEGRATING SECANG (CAESALPINIA SAPPAN L.) TABLETS AS AN ANTIOXIDANT WITH HYDROXYPROPYL CELLULOSE AS A MASKING AGENT Original Article RESMI MUSTARICHIE a* , DRADJAD PRIAMBODO b a Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis and Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia, b Received: 18 Feb 2019, Revised and Accepted: 10 May 2019 Department of Pharmaceutics (Apothecary Programme), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Padjadjaran Email: resmi.mustarichie@unpad.ac.id ABSTRACT Objective: The objective of this research was to formulate Orally Disintegrating Tablets (ODT) preparations for secang (Caesalpinia sappan L.) wood extract as antioxidants that met the requirements as a pharmaceutical preparation. Methods: Three ODT formulas were made using the composition of the extract of secang wood, HPC-H, kollidon® CL, Avicel® PH 101, mannitol, acesulfame, magnesium stearate, citric acid, and menthol. The bitter taste of the extract of wood secang was covered with the Hydroxy Propyl Cellulose High Substitution (HPC-H) masking agent. Variations in HPC-H concentration were 4%, 4.5%, and 5%. The evaluation of tablet print mass tested included water content, flow velocity, and resting angle, real density, incompressible density, and compressibility. Evaluation of tablets tested included weight uniformity, uniformity of size, hardness, friability, and disintegration time. The tablet antioxidant activity testing was carried out by the Diphenylpicylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. Results: The results showed that all ODT formulas of secang wood extract were fulfilling the requirements as a tablet preparation according to Indonesian Pharmacopoeia IV. IC 50 Conclusion: The results obtained in this research work clearly indicated ODT formulas of secang wood extract fulfilled Indonesian Pharmacopea IV requirement and belong to the category of very strong antioxidants because they have an IC values obtained from antioxidant testing on the three ODT formulas for a secang wood extract for formula I was 3.614 ppm, formula II was 3.464 ppm, formula III was 3.173 ppm, and the wood extract was 3.757 ppm. 50 Keywords: Secang wood, Caesalpinia sappan, Antioxidant, Orally Disintegrating Tablets (ODT), DPPH value of less than 50 ppm. © 2019 The Authors. Published by Innovare Academic Sciences Pvt Ltd. This is an open-access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22159/ijap.2019v11i4.32663 INTRODUCTION The production of free radicals in the body continues to increase due to external influences, such as cigarette smoke, vehicle fumes, toxins, and solar radiation so that the body's antioxidant defense system no longer works effectively to protect the body from free radical attacks. Free radicals can cause oxidative stress. Prevention can be done by administering exogenous antioxidants. Antioxidants are compounds that can react with free radicals and function to neutralize free radicals [1, 2]. One test of antioxidant activity was carried out by testing Diphenylpicrylhidrazy (DPPH) free radical trapping [3]. Sappan wood or Kayu secang (Indonesian) is reported of having medicinal properties, such as natural antioxidant, relieve vomiting of blood, and mix of ingredients for malaria drugs [4]. Indonesian people have used a lot of secang wood as traditional medicine [5]. Secang wood contains gallic acid, tannin, resin, resorcin, brazilin, brazilein, d-alpha-phellandrene, ocimene, essential oil [6]. The use of secang in the community is still limited in the form of steeping [7]. In this research, the formulation of Orally Disintegrating Tablets (ODT) extract of secang wood using Hydroxy Propyl Cellulose (HPC-H) as a masking agent to cover the bitter taste of secang wood extract as an active ingredient with the method of making direct press tablets. This is because the ODT drug will dissolve or disintegrate in the mouth when in contact with saliva in less than 60 seconds [8]. In the previous study, secang ethanol extract and secang wood extract fraction had activities as antioxidants and the results of the tests showed that the greater the concentration of the test solution, the smaller the DPPH absorbance produced [9, 10]. This study reports the formulation of orally disintegrating secang tablets as an antioxidant with hydroxyl propyl cellulose as a masking agent. The results of this study are expected to add alternatives to well-known antioxidants in the market including enzymes and other substances, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta carotene. So far there has been no publication about ODT which is efficacious as an antioxidant from secang. MATERIALS AND METHODS Materials The secang wood chips were obtained from the Manoko Experimental Garden, Lembang, West Java and determined at the Laboratory of Taxonomy, Biology Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran. Its plant identification sheet no. 425/HB/02/2018 showed that the plant was Caesalpinia sappan L., Family: Fabaceae. Chemicals HPC-H (Nippon Soda Co., Ltd), Kollidon® CL (Sigma-Aldrich), Avicel® PH 101 (Sigma-Aldrich), Mannitol (Sigma-Aldrich), Acesulfame (Sigma-Aldrich), Magnesium Stearate (Sigma-Aldrich), Citric acid (Sigma-Aldrich), Menthol (Sigma-Aldrich), Acetosal (Sigma-Aldrich), DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) (Sigma-Aldrich). All chemicals used for the formulation were Pharmaceutical grade. DPPH (1,1- diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and Vitamin C were Analytical grades. Methods Extractions Fresh secang wood was washed and dried by aerating at room temperature and protected from sunlight. It was chopped and blended until it became powder. The 3,000-gram powder was extracted using the maceration method using 96% ethanol as its solvent based on modification method of Kusuma et al. [11]. The extract was concentrated using a rotary evaporator at a temperature of 40-50 °C and continued by using a water bath at a temperature of 40-50 °C to obtain a dry extract with a constant weight. Phytochemical screening Phytochemical screening was carried out to determine the content of secondary metabolites in alkaloids, tannins, polyphenols, flavonoids, steroids, triterpenoids, quinones, saponins, monoterpenoids, and International Journal of Applied Pharmaceutics ISSN- 0975-7058 Vol 11, Issue 4, 2019