This study investigates the compression and mechanical properties of directly compressible pregelatinized sago starches in comparison with Spress (R) B820 and Avicel (R) PH 101. The sago starch is pregelatinized at 65 degrees C with different pregelatinization times of 15, 30,45, and 60 min, creating samples PS1, PS2, PS3, and PS4, respectively. Compressibility of the powders is analyzed by Heckel and Kawakita equations. The compressibility of sago starch is found to be lower than that of its pregelatinized forms, and the compressibility increases with an increase in the pregelatinization time. Avicel (R) PH 101 is the most compressible among the powders evaluated, followed by PS4, Spress (R) B820, PS3, PS2, PS1, and sago starch. As for mechanical properties, Avicel (R) PH 101 is found to have the highest radial tensile strength and the hardest compacts, indicating that it has the highest compactibility, followed by Spress (R) B820, PS4, PS3, PS2, PSI, and sago starch. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.