title: Polysaccharides in colon-specific drug delivery.
abstract: Natural polysaccharides are now extensively used for the development of solid dosage forms for delivery of drug to the colon. The rationale for the development of a polysaccharide based delivery system for colon is the presence of large amounts of polysaccharidases in the human colon as the colon is inhabited by a large number and variety of bacteria which secrete many enzymes e.g. beta-D-glucosidase, beta-D-galactosidase, amylase, pectinase, xylanase, beta-D-xylosidase, dextranase, etc. Various major approaches utilizing polysaccharides for colon-specific delivery are fermentable coating of the drug core, embedding of the drug in biodegradable matrix, formulation of drug-saccharide conjugate (prodrugs). A large number of polysaccharides have already been studied for their potential as colon-specific drug carrier systems, such as chitosan, pectin, chondroitin sulphate, cyclodextrin, dextrans, guar gum, inulin, amylose and locust bean gum. Recent efforts and approaches exploiting these polysaccharides in colon-specific drug delivery are discussed.
authors.affiliation: University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160 014, India.
authors.forename: V R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kumria
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D003106:Colon / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D004337:Drug Carriers; D006801:Humans; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D011355:Prodrugs / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D011134:Polysaccharides; D011355:Prodrugs