Application of Xanthan Gum in Pharmaceutical Field

Xanthan gum can be used in the pharmaceutical industry because of its safety, emulsification, thickening, stability, film-forming and gelling properties. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved xanthan gum as a food additive in 1969, and the European Union approved it as a food stabilizer and emulsifier in 1980. In the field of medicine, xanthan gum was included in the "United States Pharmacopeia/National Formulary" in 1975 and as a pharmaceutical excipient in the "Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China" in 2010.

Used as pharmaceutical preparations

In solid preparations, xanthan gum mainly plays the roles of binding, disintegration, sustained release and controlled release. Xanthan gum has good adhesive properties and can be combined with starch, carboxymethylcellulose, chitosan and other excipients to prepare sustained-release tablets with different hardnesses and dissolution rates.

The high viscosity of xanthan gum can make external preparations easier to apply and less likely to fall off the skin, helping to improve the bioavailability of the drug and increase the comfort of medication.

In ophthalmic preparations, xanthan gum is used as an eye drop auxiliary to prolong the contact time between the drug and the administration site. Because of its nature as a pseudoplastic fluid, the shear force generated when blinking can quickly reduce its viscosity without causing discomfort to the eyes. Eye drops prepared by mixing xanthan gum, chondroitin sulfate, sodium hyaluronate, etc. can protect corneal epithelial cells and accelerate cell regeneration. The ophthalmic gel prepared with xanthan gum as the gel matrix is uniform, stable, has good gel strength, and has good biological adhesion to the corneal surface. It can significantly extend the retention time of the drug, thereby improving the efficacy and delaying the release of the drug.

Treat osteoarthritis

Intra-articular injection of sodium hyaluronate can help restore joint viscoelasticity and act as a cushion, which can effectively relieve symptoms, improve joint function, and slow down the progression of the disease. Sodium hyaluronate has been widely used as a treatment for osteoarthritis.

Xanthan gum is a macromolecular polysaccharide with high viscoelasticity and similar properties to sodium hyaluronate. Intra-articular injection of xanthan gum can lubricate and buffer stress. In recent years, it has been used in experimental bone joints, treatment of arthritis. The relevant research results show that compared with sodium hyaluronate, xanthan gum has better stability, is not easily degraded by enzymes and free radicals in the body, and stays in the joint cavity for a longer time. It is expected to become a longer-acting new drug for the treatment of osteoarthritis.

Regulate immunity

Polysaccharides have a wide range of biological activities, such as immune regulation, anti-inflammation, antioxidant, anticoagulation, antiviral, anti-tumor and other effects. Xanthan gum is safe and stable, biodegradable in the body, and has good tissue compatibility. It avoids the problems caused by the easy deposition of aluminum salts in traditional human vaccine adjuvants at the injection site, and has the potential to be developed into a new immune adjuvant.

Because xanthan gum itself has excellent physical and chemical properties, it continues to attract the attention of domestic and foreign researchers. As a pharmaceutical excipient, xanthan gum will be widely used in the field of pharmacy, and scientific researchers will develop more and better preparations. According to the characteristics of xanthan gum, its potential application in biomedical engineering should be continuously paid attention to.