Pectin as oral colon-specific nano- and microparticulate drug carriers

Abstract Polymers and specifically polysaccharides have widespread application in drug delivery system design because they are abundant, biodegradable, biocompatible, low cost, and most importantly nontoxic. Polysaccharides such as amylose, cyclodextrin, dextran, pectin, alginate, chitosan, guar gum, xylan, inulin, and starch are employed in the development of sustained-release and delayed-release drug delivery systems. Starch is constituted of amylose and amylopectin. It has been employed as core and coat materials in pharmaceutical oral dosage forms such as tablets, pellets, hydrogels, microparticles, and nanoparticles. Starch has been utilized as a carrier material for anticancer therapeutics in the treatment of leukemia, breast, lung, liver, and colon cancers. With reference to oral colon-specific drug delivery, starch has been used as a matrix material for drug carriers for the treatment of colon cancer and related ailments. Resistant starch is known to exert cancer preventive effects and an ideal starch variant for oral colon-specific drug delivery system design attributing to its high resistance against gastrointestinal digestion. Starch has been employed as functional excipients of nanoparticulate and microparticulate carriers for oral colon-targeting of drugs. In comparison to other polysaccharides, its potential has yet to be explored widely.