Evaluating the application of an arabinoxylan-rich fraction from brewers’ spent grain as a release modifier of drugs

Abstract

This study evaluated the possible use of a fraction of brewers’ spent grain rich in arabinoxylans (BSG-AX) as an excipient that modifies the release of class III drugs (Biopharmaceutics Classification System), by determining the release profile of metformin hydrochloride (MH), in a water medium. The cumulative percentage of MH release showed the best linear fit when modeled with the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the Weibull distribution (R² = 0.993 ± 0.001). According to the Korsmeyer-Peppas model, the first stage of MH release is regulated by a super case-II transport mechanism controlled by the expansion and relaxation of BSG-AX. Finally, with the Hixson-Crowell model, a release rate ($k_{\mathit{\text{HC}}}$) of 0.350 ± 0.026 $h^{-\frac{1}{3}}$ was obtained (R² = 0.996 ± 0.007). BSG-AX constitutes a suitable material for producing prolonged drug release vehicles; however, additional research is required to provide a better encapsulation of the active ingredients to ensure their optimal applicability and performance.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Arabinoxylans
• naturapolyceutics
• pharmaceutical applications
• release-matrix
• metformin hydrochloride

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Sistema Nacional de Investigadores (SNI-CONACyT) and the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article..

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Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.