Co-crystallization of acetaminophen and acidic components of labisia pumila

Acetaminophen and Kacip Fatimah (Labisia Pumila) are very popular in Malaysia. Malaysian may co-administer both compounds together without realizing the interaction between the compounds. The interaction may in the form of co-crystal formation. The interaction may produce beneficial or toxic effect in the body. The objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of the co-crystal between acetaminophen and phenolic acid derivatives of Kacip Fatimah. Co-crystal is a crystal that structurally homogeneous containing two or more components in a specific ratio. The components consist of a neutral drug and a co-crystal former. The neutral drug may be the acetaminophen while the co-crystal former is phenolic acid such as gallic acid, caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid. Acetaminophen and phenolic acids had undergo the preliminary characterization using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). This characterization shows that they do not interact with each other to form co-crystal. It also was proved by co-crystal formation and the Single Crystal diffraction (SCD). The crystal formed was acetaminophen crystal instead of co-crystal for all acetaminophen and phenolic acid combination. Thus, acetaminophen and phenolic acid derivatives of Kacip Fatimah may not interact with each other to form co-crystal.