Application of Xanthan Gum in Medicine
Xanthan gum stands to be applied in the pharmaceutical industry due to its safety, emulsion capacity, thickening capacity, stability, film-forming properties, and gelling capacity. Xanthan gum was approved in 1969 by the USA’s Food and Drug Administration as a direct food additive, while the EU authorized the product as a food stabilizer and emulsifier in 1980. Xanthan gum as a pharmaceutical excipient was entered into the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China in 2010.
What is Xanthan Gum?
Xanthan gum is a polymer of Xanthomonas campestris and is used as a heteropolysaccharide as a thickening or stabilizer. This is particularly obtained from fermented corn and is used in industries such as drugs, cosmetics, and even food industry. It is believed that xanthan gum safe and does not cause any kind of irritation.
Xanthan Gum Product Function
Water Solubility
Xanthan gum is soluble in water, and this aspect exhibits good solubility in water as well. It is soluble in cold water and therefore does not require sophisticated chemical processing to acquire its properties, and that makes it convenient to handle.
Stability
In the secondary structure of xanthan gum, the side chains are coiled in the opposite direction of the main chain in such a way that they shield the main chain from being broken. Pharmaceutical grade xanthan gum is resistant to high temperatures, acids, alkalis, salts, and enzymatic hydrolysis because of its special structure.
Rheology
Coming to the types of flow behaviour of xanthan gum solutions, it is very important to note that they show pseudoplastic fluid characteristics. Under the influence of shear force, viscosity responds oppositely by decreasing greatly and in a way depends on the shear rate. If the shear force is removed, then the viscosity comes back to its original state or decreases immediately after that.
Thickening Ability
The three-dimensional network structure of xanthan gum can also regulate the water flow characteristics and thus has good thickeness. Xanthan gum as a thickening agent in medicine, the substance called xanthan gum shows high viscosity even when it is in a low concentration.
Suspension and Emulsification
Xanthan gum has the best application in suspending insoluble solids and oil droplets from a liquid medium. Its sol molecules combine to form co-polymers that form ultra-converged helices, rendering it a very fragile gel that can support solid particles, liquid droplets, and bubbles. This structure makes it suitable for xanthan gum medical applications since it provides xanthan gum with emulsifying stability and a high suspension rate.
Safety
Xanthan gum is a xanthan gum healthy type of biopolymer. It was approved by the FDA in 1969 and was incorporated in the National Formulary (NF), 5 years later, and in the same year, FAO/WHO considered it as a food additive. It was first put into the Category of National Secondary Standard of Medicinal Material and Petroleum Chemical Industry in 1996 and in the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China in 2010.
Using Xanthan Gum in Medicine
Xanthan Gum in Solid Dosage Forms
Xanthan gum is used as a mouthfeel and taste modifier, tablet binder/coater, and immediate and controlled-release vehicle/release system. It can be blended with a number of excipients by its terrific binding capacity, and the resultant product can have controlled release tablets having different hardness, dissolution profiles, and viscosity. The used method is suitable for water-soluble and water-insoluble drugs and can be used in experimentation.
- In the formulation of tablets, xanthan gum serves as a binder and can be used to soften a formulation so that it does not become too hard, which could lead to cracking at the time of compression as well as storage.
- In the context of a microcapsule, it gives xanthan gum has a major responsibility of functioning in determining how the drug is released.
- In chewable and lozenge formulations, xanthan gum performs the role of a binder to the texture of the product as well as improving the stability of the tablets.
Xanthan Gum in Liquid and Semi-Solid Dosage Forms
It is to be noted that the liquid xanthan gum can be used as a thickener, suspending agent, emulsifying agent, and stabilizing agent for a liquid or semi-solid preparation. The results indicate that it has good spreadability because of its high viscosity in topical formulation. Furthermore, because the water component evaporates while the drug remains on the surface of the skin, the bioavailability and the comfort of the patients are improved.
Xanthan Gum in Ophthalmic Formulations
Some of the properties of xanthan gum that make it suitable for use in ophthalmic formulations include prolongation of drug residence time on the ocular area. It also has low viscosity and is pseudoplastic; this means that blinking causes it to drop its viscosity to relieve pain to the wearer. Xanthan gum, intrinsically, in ophthalmic solutions containing sodium chondroitin sulfate or sodium hyaluronate enhances the cytoprotective effect as well as stimulates the proliferation of corneal epithelial cells.
Also, gels containing xanthan gum are homogeneous systems that are stable and possess acceptable gel rigidity. These properties improve the bioadhesive properties towards the corneal tissues, as well as increase the time duration of the drug release and improve the therapeutic effect.
Emerging Applications of Xanthan Gum in Medicine
Aside from gelling, emulsifying, and stabilizing agents in various medicine products, people look for more beneficial uses of xanthan gum in the medical field. Some of the specific areas that have been explored in the recent past involving xanthan gum include: potential application of xanthan gum as a controlled drug delivery system in the management of chronic ailments such as gastroenterologic and pulmonary illnesses. This is because of its bioadhesive characteristics and is used in the enhancement of drug delivery in the mucosal area, hence enhancing the efficiency of some drugs. In addition, the fact that xanthan gum used in the food and medicine sector can also be incorporated into the modern system of personalized therapy, for instance, 3D printing of pharmaceuticals and medicine, makes it even more valuable in pharmaceuticals.
Conclusion
The pharmaceutical uses of xanthan gum are many. This versatile biopolymer is used in many forms of drug products, which consequently makes it an essential excipient in the production process of drugs in pharmaceutical industries. In the medical field, xanthan gum continues to play an essential role in thickening, stabilizing, and emulsifying pharmaceutical drugs used to improve drug delivery systems. These attributes of xanthan gum in medicine explain why this product is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry due to its safety and efficacy. UPON advancement in research and development of xanthan gum, it is expected that producers of the product will enhance formulation of drugs to provide heightened benefits to patients. For detailed information regarding xanthan gum producers and its uses within the pharmaceutical industry, get in touch with Mondstar to go through our range of the best quality xanthan gum thickener.
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