Antioxidant supplements are gaining popularity due to their various health benefits such as anticancer effects, reducing cardiovascular and stroke risk, lowering LDL cholesterol as well as increasing metabolism and weight reduction. Many of these antioxidants are available as conventional film-coated tablets.
Cellulosic polymers such as HPMC are widely used in film coating of these tablets, but suffer from drawbacks such as:
- Strong unwanted taste/odor and yellowish color to the solution
- Difficulty in solubilization due to lumping and foam formation
- “Bearding” on spray nozzles causing frequent production stops for cleaning
- High coating cost per tablet due to longer coating times
HPMC has a strong tendency to interact with antioxidant polyphenolic actives, resulting in formation of a sticky gel, which significantly increases tablet disintegration time (DT). A novel pregelatinized, hydroxypropyl starch polymer (LYCOAT®), ensures minimal interaction with polyphenolic actives and does not prolong DT of coated tablets.