© Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2020. This work is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Malaysian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol. 18, No. 1, 61–75 (2020) MODIFICATION OF MYRIANTHUS ARBOREUS GUM: EFFECT ON DISINTEGRATION AND IN VITRO RELEASE OF METRONIDAZOLE FROM TABLET FORMULATION CHRISTIAN ARERUSUOGHENE ALALOR * , JOHN AFOKEOGHENE AVBUNUDIOGBA, SINODUKOO EZIUZO OKAFO AND PRAISE FEJIRO ARHARIRHE Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Delta State University, Abraka Delta State, Nigeria Published online: 31 May 2020 To cite this article: CHRISTIAN ARERUSUOGHENE ALALOR, JOHN AFOKEOGHENE AVBUNUDIOGBA, SINODUKOO EZIUZO OKAFO & PRAISE FEJIRO ARHARIRHE (2020) Modifcation of Myrianthus arboreus gum: Effect on disintegration and in vitro release of metronidazole from tablet formulation, Malaysian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 18(1): 61–75, https://doi.org/10.21315/mjps2020.18.1.4. To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.21315/mjps2020.18.1.4 Modifcation of natural polymer can lead to improvement of polymer properties. Gums can be modifed by physical and chemical methods. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of modifcation of Myrianthus arboreus gum on disintegration and in vitro release of metronidazole from tablet formulations. The gum was extracted, modifed by acid treatment and Carboxymethylation, and used as a binder in metronidazole tablet formulations at concentrations of 2.5% w/w, 5% w/w and 10% w/w. The granule properties were evaluated for bulk and tapped densities, Carr’s index, Hausner’s ratio and angle of repose. The properties of tablets formulated with the modifed gums were compared with tablets formulated with sodium alginate and the unmodifed native gum. The results showed that carboxymethylation of Myrianthus arboreus gum led to faster disintegration and drug release. Batch B10 containing 2.5% w/w carboxymethylated Myrianthus arboreus gum (C-MAG) disintegrated in less than 2 minutes and released over 80% of metronidazole in 15 minutes. While acid modifcation of Myrianthus arboreus gum led to slower disintegration and drug release. Metronidazole tablets formulated with 5% w/w and 10% w/w of acid modifed Myrianthus arboreus gum (A-MAG) gave disintegration time of 40.33 minutes and 46.35 minutes, respectively, while drug release in 15 minutes for 5% w/w and 10% w/w were 57% and 16%, respectively. It can be concluded from the study that modifcation of Myrianthus arboreus gum could lead to multi-functional excipients for drug delivery systems by altering the physicochemical properties of the gum. Keywords: Carboxymethylation, Metronidazole, Myrianthus arboreus gum, Disintegration, In vitro release * Corresponding author: khritzz@gmail.com; calalor@delsu.edu.ng