Formulation and Evaluation of Fast Dissolving Tooth paste Tablet By Utilizing Incinerated Achyranthes aspera Ash

Conventional tube toothpaste generates enormous, largely non-recyclable plastic waste and depends on water for use, which has prompted interest in solid, waterless dentifrice formats. In this study a herbal chewable tooth tablet was formulated using the calcined ash of Achyranthes aspera (Apamarga Kshar), a plant used traditionally in Indian oral-care practice, as the principal abrasive and mineral-rich active ingredient. Tablets were prepared by direct compression using mannitol and calcium carbonate as diluents, microcrystalline cellulose as a binder/filler, xylitol as a non-cariogenic sweetener, a peppermint–menthol–clove flavour system, talc and magnesium stearate as lubricant/glidant, and crospovidone and croscarmellose sodium as superdisintegrants. Six trial formulations (F1–F6) were prepared by varying the ratio of the two superdisintegrants while holding total tablet weight constant at 300 mg. Pre-compression (bulk density, tapped density, Carr’s index, Hausner ratio, angle of repose) and post-compression (weight variation, thickness, hardness, friability, wetting time, water absorption ratio, in-vitro disintegration and dissolution, drug content, moisture content, surface pH and foaming ability) parameters were evaluated, together with herbal-specific tests (ash value, particle size distribution, antimicrobial activity against oral pathogens) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) drug–excipient compatibility studies. A preliminary optimization matrix, followed by Central Composite Design (CCD) and Box–Behnken Design (BBD) response-surface modelling, was used to study the combined effect of crospovidone and croscarmellose sodium (and, in the BBD, compression force) on tablet hardness and disintegration time. Formulation F5 (crospovidone 10 mg, croscarmellose sodium 8 mg per 300 mg tablet) gave the most balanced profile, combining adequate hardness (~4.0–4.5 kg/cm²), rapid disintegration (24–32 s), low friability (<0.6% w/w), acceptable surface pH (7.15 ± 0.03), optimal foaming, and the highest in-vitro drug/marker release, and was carried forward as the optimized batch. FTIR spectra of the ash and the optimized tablet showed no loss or shift of the characteristic functional-group bands of the ash, indicating drug–excipient compatibility. These findings support the technical feasibility of a plant-ash–based, direct-compression tooth tablet as a low-plastic, water-saving alternative to conventional paste dentifrice, while highlighting the need for confirmatory clinical and full stability data before commercial translation.