oral route but physiological changes in paediatrics and elderly cause complications
in swallowing the tablets. This kind of obstacle can be addressed by engineering
fast dissolving tablets (Karthikeyan et al. 2012). Fast dissolving tablets quickly
disintegrate within few seconds by saliva when it is placed in oral cavity (Puttewar
et al. 2010). Super-disintegrants induce the rate of dissolution by breaking up the
tablets into small particles.
Fenugreek gum was subjected as effective disintegrants and compared to conventional disintegrants like croscarmellose and sodium starch glycolate. Fast dissolving tablets were loaded with diclofenac sodium fabricated by direct
compression method using fenugreek gum of different concentration (1–6%, w/w).
It was observed that an increase in concentration of fenugreek gum enhanced the
rate of drug release and reduced the disintegration time. Application of fenugreek
gum in the formulation caused significant reduction of inflammation and diclofenac
concentration in the formulation. This reduction of inflammation may be due to
synergistic activity of diclofenac and fenugreek gum in curbing the inflammatory
mediators like leucocytes migration, cytokinins production and prostaglandin
synthesis. Therefore, use of fenugreek gum as a superdisintegrant could minimize
the dose related side effects of diclofenac (Kumar et al. 2014).
11.4.3 Mucoadhesive and Bioadhesive Agent
Moderate water solubility, short half life and slow dissolution rate are the major
pitfalls associated with conventional antidiabetic drugs such as Metformin HCl
(MeHCl) and Glimpiride (Ahmed et al. 2016). Therefore, designing of smart drug
delivery system which can overcome these pitfalls is a prime area of research in the
pharmaceutical domain. Polymeric beads composed of natural or synthetic polymer
loaded with therapeutic agents offer great success as efficient drug carriers (Nayak
et al. 2013a, b). Easy availability, low cost, biocompatibility, biodegradability and
environment friendly nature of plant-derived polymer and mucilage attracted
researchers to use them as bead forming agent for therapeutic applications (Avachat
et al. 2011). It was observed that beads consisting calcium pectinate and fenugreek
seed mucilage embodied with MeHCl of size range 1.47–2.08 mm shows
pH-dependent mucoadhesive and swelling properties. Formulated beads exhibited
significant excellent hypoglycemic effect in diabetic rats after oral administration
(Nayak et al. 2013a, b).
Nayak et al., developed sodium alginate and fenugreek seed mucilage based
mucoadhesive beads using MeHCl as a therapeutic agent (Nayak et al. 2013a, b). In
vivo studies revealed mucoadhesiveness and prolonged drug delivery capacity of
the developed mucoadhesive beads. In another report, Nayak and Pal used ionotropic gelation technique to fabricate mucoadhesive beads composed of gellan gum
and fenugreek seed mucilage functionalized with MeHCl. Release of MeHCl from
the drug followed zero-order model with super case-II mechanism. Excellent
hypoglycemic effect was noticed when fenugreek-based beads were administered
392
P. Mishra et al.
in swallowing the tablets. This kind of obstacle can be addressed by engineering
fast dissolving tablets (Karthikeyan et al. 2012). Fast dissolving tablets quickly
disintegrate within few seconds by saliva when it is placed in oral cavity (Puttewar
et al. 2010). Super-disintegrants induce the rate of dissolution by breaking up the
tablets into small particles.
Fenugreek gum was subjected as effective disintegrants and compared to conventional disintegrants like croscarmellose and sodium starch glycolate. Fast dissolving tablets were loaded with diclofenac sodium fabricated by direct
compression method using fenugreek gum of different concentration (1–6%, w/w).
It was observed that an increase in concentration of fenugreek gum enhanced the
rate of drug release and reduced the disintegration time. Application of fenugreek
gum in the formulation caused significant reduction of inflammation and diclofenac
concentration in the formulation. This reduction of inflammation may be due to
synergistic activity of diclofenac and fenugreek gum in curbing the inflammatory
mediators like leucocytes migration, cytokinins production and prostaglandin
synthesis. Therefore, use of fenugreek gum as a superdisintegrant could minimize
the dose related side effects of diclofenac (Kumar et al. 2014).
11.4.3 Mucoadhesive and Bioadhesive Agent
Moderate water solubility, short half life and slow dissolution rate are the major
pitfalls associated with conventional antidiabetic drugs such as Metformin HCl
(MeHCl) and Glimpiride (Ahmed et al. 2016). Therefore, designing of smart drug
delivery system which can overcome these pitfalls is a prime area of research in the
pharmaceutical domain. Polymeric beads composed of natural or synthetic polymer
loaded with therapeutic agents offer great success as efficient drug carriers (Nayak
et al. 2013a, b). Easy availability, low cost, biocompatibility, biodegradability and
environment friendly nature of plant-derived polymer and mucilage attracted
researchers to use them as bead forming agent for therapeutic applications (Avachat
et al. 2011). It was observed that beads consisting calcium pectinate and fenugreek
seed mucilage embodied with MeHCl of size range 1.47–2.08 mm shows
pH-dependent mucoadhesive and swelling properties. Formulated beads exhibited
significant excellent hypoglycemic effect in diabetic rats after oral administration
(Nayak et al. 2013a, b).
Nayak et al., developed sodium alginate and fenugreek seed mucilage based
mucoadhesive beads using MeHCl as a therapeutic agent (Nayak et al. 2013a, b). In
vivo studies revealed mucoadhesiveness and prolonged drug delivery capacity of
the developed mucoadhesive beads. In another report, Nayak and Pal used ionotropic gelation technique to fabricate mucoadhesive beads composed of gellan gum
and fenugreek seed mucilage functionalized with MeHCl. Release of MeHCl from
the drug followed zero-order model with super case-II mechanism. Excellent
hypoglycemic effect was noticed when fenugreek-based beads were administered
392
P. Mishra et al.