Plant-Based Gums and Mucilages Applications in Pharmacology and Nanomedicine: A Review

Abstract

Gums are carbohydrate biomolecules that have the potential to bind water and form gels. Gums are regularly linked with proteins and minerals in their construction. Gums have several forms, such as mucilage gums, seed gums, exudate gums, etc. Plant gums are one of the most important gums because of their bioavailability. Plant-derived gums have been used by humans since ancient times for numerous applications. The main features that make them appropriate for use in different applications are high stabilization, viscosity, adhesive property, emulsification action, and surface-active activity. In many pharmaceutical formulations, plant-based gums and mucilages are the key ingredients due to their bioavailability, widespread accessibility, non-toxicity, and reasonable prices. These compete with many polymeric materials for use as different pharmaceuticals in today’s time and have created a significant achievement from being an excipient to innovative drug carriers. In particular, scientists and pharmacy industries around the world have been drawn to uncover the secret potential of plant-based gums and mucilages through a deeper understanding of their physicochemical characteristics and the development of safety profile information. This innovative unique class of drug products, useful in advanced drug delivery applications, gene therapy, and biosynthesis, has been developed by modification of plant-based gums and mucilages. In this review, both fundamental and novel medicinal aspects of plant-based gums and mucilages, along with their capacity for pharmacology and nanomedicine, were demonstrated.

Application of Response Surface Methodology for Optimizing the Therapeutic Activity of ZnO Nanoparticles Biosynthesized from Aspergillus niger

“…Nanoparticles produced by plant and microorganism extracts are the center of attention because of their bio-compatibility and low cost [ 46 , 47 ]. ZnO displays significantly enhanced biomedical characteristics in its nano-forms.…”

The Renaissance of Plant Mucilage in Health Promotion and Industrial Applications: A Review

“…The plant species and extraction method influence the ratio of abovementioned individual constituents. Depending on the type of monomers and their proportions, glucomannan, galactomannan, arabinogalactan, rhamnogalacturonan, arabinoxylan, glucuronoxylan are distinguished [56,57].…”

Formulation and Evaluation of Conventional Metronidazole Tablets using Natural Gum Extracted from Grewia species

“…Gums and mucilages are monosaccharides produced as a result of hydrolysis of polysaccharides. They contain magnesium, potassium and calcium salts of polyuronic acids [5]. Gums extracted from plants constitute the largest proportion of natural gums and are applied in drug delivery as disintegrants, emulsifying agents, suspending agents and binding agents.…”

“…G. mollis, G. tenax, G. villosa etc. G. Mollis Juss is composed of rhamnose, glucose and galacturonic acid [5].The species used in this study is commonly called ilaoko or lakolako among the Yoruba speaking tribe of Nigeria and is used for its nutritional and medicinal values. Its emulsifying property has earlier been established [7].…”