What Are Bulking Agents In Tablets?

What’s covered?

The bulking agents are used in the manufacturing process of all tablets and capsules.

Drugs and food supplements (amino acids and vitamin supplements) are an integral part of modern life. These drugs and dietary supplements are used to improve as well as boost the immune system and fight infections. What does a pill have in it? Let's understand.

The composition of a pill

The tablets have two components, the active therapeutic agent (the drug) and the non-medicinal part called the excipients. The weight of an average pill is 0.25-0.35g and it may contain only a few mgs of the active drug.

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Why are these excipients added? These excipients are added to the formulation to improve the manufacturing, appearance and palatability of the pill.

Three main types of excipients are used in pharmaceutical products.

Binders

These are synthetic or natural polymers that have adhesive properties. These agents bind the ingredients together and ensure a compact structure of the tablets. Starch paste is a very common binder used in tablets.

Lubricants/ flow agents

These agents are used to prevent the clumping together of pills and improve their flow in the body. The examples are magnesium stearate (a derivative of stearic acid) and magnesium silicate.

Disintegrants

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These agents are added to some of the pills to reverse the adhesive properties of the binders. These compounds ensure that the pill breaks down after entering the stomach or intestine thus releasing the active drug. Crosslinked polymers are used for this purpose.

Bulking agents

As the name indicates, these ingredients are added to the tablets to increase their size. Some pharmacological products are so active that they are required in only a few mgs or even fee nanograms. These agents are added to these pills to increase their size so that they could be handled with ease.

How much of the bulking agent is present in tablets?

How many bulking agents are required depends on the quantity of the active ingredients in the formula and the amount and nature of this drug. It also depends on the pharmacological properties of the drug.

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For example, vitamin d is fat-soluble and is required in small doses. So, its pills will have fewer active ingredients and more bulking agents. In contrast, vitamin c is water soluble and required in large quantities, its large tablets have more active drugs and little bulking agent.

What should a good bulking agent be like?

These agents have a nutritional value and should also be approved by drug authorities after proper clinical trials (with the active drug). A good bulking agent should have the following properties.

• It should be non-hygroscopic and non-hydrophilic means it should not absorb the water. If it has some attraction for water, you can add some moisture-absorbing chemicals e.g., silica gel to the pill box.

• It should have good compressibility.

It should be compatible with the active drug. It means it should not reduce the absorption of the drug in the body. For example, calcium salts can reduce the absorption and efficacy of some antibiotics e.g., tetracyclines.

What are some commonly used bulking agents?

The bulking agents are common fillers used in foods to increase their shelf life. Some commonly used bulking agents in the tablet formulation are;

• Lactose is the most commonly used bulking agent and has most of the properties of a good bulking agent.

However, if you are lactose intolerant, you may not be allowed to consume it and the pharmaceutical industry has an alternative. You can use tablets having one or the other of these bulking agents.,

• Anhydrous lactose

• Sucrose

• Rice flour

• Mannitol

• Sorbitol

• Sodium chloride (table salt)

• Calcium sulfate

• Kaolin

• Dicalcium phosphate

• Cellulose