{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T14:29:45Z","timestamp":1785421785932,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785196800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Fundamental Fund 2025","award":["207614"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["207614"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100017170","name":"Thailand Science Research and Innovation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["FRB680102\/0162"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FRB680102\/0162"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100017170","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["FRB680102\/0162"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FRB680102\/0162"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/000025p04","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceutics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: The development of naturally derived pharmaceutical excipients has attracted increasing interest as alternatives to conventional synthetic materials. Methods: In this study, starch\u2013beeswax composites were prepared using native rice starch (RS) and spray-dried rice starch (SDRS) through melt levigation (ML) and emulsification (EM) techniques at starch-to-beeswax ratios of 9:1, 8:2, and 7:3. The physicochemical properties, surface hydrophobicity, morphology, tabletability, and lubrication performance of the resulting composites were evaluated and compared with magnesium stearate (MGS) and hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO). Results: Co-processing with beeswax markedly increased the water contact angle from 35.4\u00b0 and 59.7\u00b0 for RS and SDRS, respectively, to values ranging from 94.5\u00b0 to 125.1\u00b0, indicating successful modification of surface hydrophobicity. SEM analysis demonstrated changes in particle morphology and surface appearance following co-processing, while FT-IR confirmed the coexistence of characteristic starch- and beeswax-associated spectral features without evidence of detectable covalent modification. Co-processed formulations generally maintained or improved tabletability relative to their corresponding starch bases, with SDRS-based composites producing substantially harder tablets than RS-based formulations. The composites also reduced tablet ejection force and improved tablet mechanical properties compared with lubricant-free formulations. Among all samples, SDRS-EM-73 exhibited the best overall performance, reducing ejection force from 386.5 N for the lubricant-free control to 89.2 N, a value comparable to HVO (93.0 N), while producing tablets with high hardness (60.9 N), low friability (0.16%), and acceptable disintegration time (44.8 s). Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that co-processed starch\u2013beeswax composites, particularly SDRS-EM-73, show considerable potential as naturally derived excipients for tablet manufacturing and may serve as sustainable alternatives to conventional tablet lubricants.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pharmaceutics18080925","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T08:52:01Z","timestamp":1785228721000},"page":"925","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Co-Processed Starch\u2013Beeswax Composites as Natural Tablet Lubricants: Preparation, Characterization, and Performance Evaluation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Ornanong S.","family":"Kittipongpatana","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Karnkamol","family":"Trisopon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1038-176X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rewat","family":"Phongphisutthinant","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Multidisciplinary Research Institute, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9817-306X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Supakit","family":"Chaipoot","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Multidisciplinary Research Institute, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4407-5488","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nisit","family":"Kittipongpatana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.3390\/lubricants2010021","article-title":"Lubricants in pharmaceutical solid dosage forms","volume":"2","author":"Li","year":"2014","journal-title":"Lubricants"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"126806","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijpharm.2026.126806","article-title":"Effect of externally sprayed lubricant combinations on ejection force and physical characteristics of tablets","volume":"695","author":"Bailey","year":"2026","journal-title":"Int. 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