GUAR GUM: PHARMACEUTICAL AND THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS

Guar gum is a non-ionic polysaccharide that is found abundantly in nature. It is extracted from the endosperm of seeds of guar plant (Cyamopsis tetragonaloba). It has many advantageous applications in industries due to their various properties. Guar gum is widely used in cosmetics, food, paper, textile, explosive, and pharmaceutical industry. In pharmaceuticals, the use of guar gum as delivery carriers as drugs has gained great attention due to its high swelling characteristics in aqueous solution. Guar gum can be modified by derivatization, grafting, and network formation to improve its property profile for a wide spectrum of biomedical applications. Guar gum and its derivatives in the various forms such as coatings, matrix tablets, hydrogels, and nano/microparticles are exploited as potential carriers for targeted drug delivery, colon-specific, protein, transdermal drug delivery systems. Guar gum is also used for healthy bowel activity, weight loss, and diabetes control. Partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG) is produced by a controlled process of partial hydrolysis. PHGG affects the prevention and treatment of constipation, diarrhea, diabetes, and iron deficiency anemia. It has beneficial effects on irritable bowel syndrome, reduction of post-prandial glucose and insulin levels, and plasmatic levels of cholesterol.