RESUMO
Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is generally produced through acid hydrolysis of woody plants and agro sources. MCC synthesized from a common wild grass Setaria glauca (L) P. Beauv was characterized to explore the possibility of application in pharmaceutical industry especially as a drug delivery vehicle. The SEM, TGA, XRD and FTIR investigations of the prepared MCC reveal that the 5-30µm long, non aggregated MCC rods have high crystallinity index of 80% and were stable at 286°C. The preliminary investigation of the MCC incorporated micro beads containing isoniazid, one of the first line drugs for treatment of tuberculosis was carried out in the simulated intestinal fluid (SIF). The MCC incorporated micro beads with isoniazid drug load showed sustained release upto 24h with release of 0.521µg of isoniazid equivalent drug in the SIF system. No cytotoxicity of the MCC was observed in the haemolytic assay. The MCC also showed good antioxidant activity. Thus, the study reveals that the MCC can be prepared from an inexpensive and abundant grass species. The MCC have properties advantageous for application in the pharmaceutical industry and may be explored further in drug delivery research.