title: [Study on release mechanism of berberine hydrochloride-loaded carboxymethyl konjac glucomannan pellets for colonic delivery].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study release mechanism of berberine hydrochloride (BH) from carboxymethyl konjac glucomannan pellets for colonic delivery.
  
  
  METHODS
  The pellets were prepared by ionotropic gelation technique. The effects of the kinds of enzyme and enzyme concentration of dissolution media on the release of BH and the erosion properties of the pellets were studied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the dissolution media without enzymes, the release of BH and the erosion of the pellets were increased obviously in the media with rat cecal and colonic content or beta-mannase, the degradation of the carrier material of pellets by enzymes was the main factor which result in the erosion of the pellets. With the increased of beta-mannase concentration, the release of BH and the erosion of the pellets increased, the amount relationships of the release of BH and the erosion of the pellets were approximately 1:1. The release of BH exhibit Peppas equation, the n value was more than 1.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The release mechanism of BH from the pellets was enzymatic erosion-controlled, which indicates the potential of the pellets to serve as a colon-specific drug delivery system.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chun-Sheng
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Ling
authors.forename: Shi-Xiang
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Hou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001599:Berberine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000187:drug effects; D003106:Colon / Q000378:metabolism*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D008351:Mannans / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D044902:beta-Mannosidase / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D008351:Mannans; D001599:Berberine; C022901:(1-6)-alpha-glucomannan; D044902:beta-Mannosidase