Development and Evaluation of Vaginal Suppository Containing Althaea officinalis L. Polysaccharide Extract

Abstract

Asherman's Syndrome is a condition that is characterized by intrauterine adhesions (I.U.A.), causing several symptoms, including pelvic pain, menstrual anomalies, infertility, miscarriage, and related psychological symptoms (Santamaria, Isaacson, Simón, 2018). The gold standard for I.U.A. treatment would be hysteroscopic lysis of adhesions through surgery. However, recurrence occurs frequently (Salazar, Isaacson, Morris, 2017), and prevention methods including pharmacological treatment and physical barriers have a high recurrence rate (Tu et al., 2013).Althaea officinalis L. (marshmallow) is a perennial plant with erect and woody stems from Malvaceae (Akbar, 2020). Marshmallow roots have been used in several traditional systems of medicine for more than two millennia (Ibn-Sina,1987).Marshmallow root contains 5-11% watersoluble mucilage polysaccharides composed of galacturonorhamnans, glucans, arabinans, and arabinogalactans carbohydrates (Dawid-Pać, 2013).Anti-inf lammator y, anti-ulcerogenic, and antimicrobial activities have been reported for different parts of A.