Evaluation of Some Natural Polymers as Pharmaceutical Excipient for Sustained Drug Delivery System

Abstract

The use of natural polymer as excipients in pharmaceutical sector is expanding day by day. Low cost, safety issues, availability, bio-degradable are the main causes that make them differ from other sources. Natural sources have wide range of varieties and characteristics. Excipients facilitate the formulation design and perform a wide range of functions to obtain desired properties for the finished drug product. Polysaccharide hydrocolloids including mucilages, gums and glucans are abundant in nature and commonly found in many higher plants. Currently, various plant polysaccharides have been studied for their diverse applications as excipients like binders, granulating agents, disintegrants, emulsifiers, suspending agents, gelling agents, mucoadhesive agents, matrix-formers, release retardants, enteric resistants, these polysaccharides constitute a structurally diverse class of biological macromolecules with a broad range of physicochemical properties which are widely used for various applications in pharmacy and medicine.