Isolation and physicochemical characterization of sustained releasing starches from Dioscorea of Jharkhand.

Starches were isolated from varieties of Dioscorea (Da1, Da2) grown in Jharkhand state of India and it was characterized in terms of moisture, ash, amylose content, bulk density, tapped density, true density, porosity, Carr's index, Hausner's ratio, swelling power, solubility, water holding capacity, paste clarity. Morphological, thermal and IR spectroscopic studies were also done to characterize the isolated starch. The shape and size of starch granules were round/oval to ellipsoid and 5-10μm. There were considerable differences in powder characteristics, amylose content, ash values, and water holding capacity, swelling and solubility power. Starch from variety Da2 showed high enthalpy of gelatinization temperature as compared to variety Da1. Peaks in FTIR spectra of both starches revealed its carbohydrate nature. In vitro studies revealed that both the starches from Da1 and Da2 can be used in developing sustained release formulations. The result showed that starches from both Dioscorea can be used in pharmaceutical industries as excipients with minimal modifications.