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©Pharmaceutical and Biological Evaluations
PHARMACEUTICAL AND BIOLOGICAL EVALUATIONS
February 2016; vol. 3 (Issue 1): 32-41.
www.onlinepbe.com ISSN 2394-0859
Review Article
Pharmaceutical benefits of Plantago ovate (Isabgol seed): a
review
Gitanjali Deokar, Sanjay Kshirsagar, Pratiksha Deore*, Harshada Kakulte
Department of Quality Assurance, MET’s Institute of Pharmacy, Bhujbal Knowledge City, Adgaon, Nashik 423301,
Maharashtra, India
*For correspondence
Miss. Pratiksha Deore,
Post Graduate Student,
Department of Quality
Assurance, MET’s Institute of
Pharmacy, Bhujbal Knowledge
City, Adgaon, Nashik 422003,
Maharashtra, India.
Email: deorepratiksha15
@gmail.com
Received: 21 January 2016
Accepted: 08 February 2016
ABSTRACT
Psyllium (Ispaghula psyllium, Plantago ispaghula and Plantago ovata),
has been used as a dietary fiber supplement, bulk-forming laxative, colon
cancer with advance technology. During the last decade, dietary
supplementation with Psyllium has been shown to lower blood cholesterol
level (especially LDL cholesterol) and to maintain blood glucose
homeostasis, which together is the most effective preventive measures
against diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Main advantages offered by
these polymers are their being nontoxic, less expensive and freely
available. The presented review summarises research studies which were
aimed at exploring the use of isabgol as an excipient in another way for
development of novel drug delivery system and the functional benefits of
Psyllium fiber consumption and explore the potential application of this
fibre for dietary prevention of various disease and disorder.
Keywords: Psyllium, Hydrogels, Sustained release agent, Release retardant,
Gastrorentative agent superdisintegrant, Dietary supplementation
Introduction
Since ancient age systems of medicines, Isabgol.
The word ‘Ispaghula’ is derived from Persian
language, there the word ‘Isap’ means ‘horse’
and ‘Ghula’ means ‘ear’, as the seeds of the
genus Plantago (includes more than 200 species)
is looks like shape of the ear of the horse, the
dried ripe seeds of Plantago afra (Plantago
psyllium), Plantago indica (Plantago arenaria)
and Plantago ovata belongs to family
Plantaginaceae are used in medicine (Figure 1).1
Whole plant as traditional plant known as
‘Isabgol’ is widely used as home remedy in all
cultures, in various kinds of diseases, conditions
like chronic constipation, diarrhea, inflammation
of mucous membrane of GI and genitourinary
tracts, duodenal ulcer, gonorrhea, piles, etc., as
bulk forming, non-irritant laxative drug,
demulcent, as a cervical dilator etc Drugs are
rarely administered sole pure chemical
substances, but are almost given in the form of
drug delivery system (DDS) (Figure 2).1
The DDS consist of active pharmaceutical
ingredient in association with excipients or inert
substances. Drugs are converted to dosage forms
using one or more materials which are referred
as excipients, basically these materials are
Pharmacologically inert, used to achieving
certain goals like modifying appearance,
improving handling property, physical property,
ability, packaging characteristics, etc. so, the
Deokar G. et al. Pharmaceutical and Biological Evaluations 2016; vol. 3 (1): 32-41.
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©Pharmaceutical and Biological Evaluations
drug delivery systems or pharmaceutical
applications of Ispaghula Husk. Mucilage fiber
supplement, primarily as a gentle bulk-forming
laxative to promote the regulation of large bowel
function Also, during the last decade, dietary
supplementation with psyllium has been shown
to lower blood cholesterol levels, and especially
LDL cholesterol. A large numbers of
carbohydrate containing excipients are available
from natural sources have their own place.2
Figure 1: Chemical substances of Ispaghula
Husk.
Figure 2: Chemical substances used in the
form of DDS.
Due to variety of properties offers by them, as
they are widely used as binding agents, coating
materials, suspending agents, granulating agents,
easily dispersible material, increasing viscosity
of aqueous solution in pharmaceutical industry.
Natural carbohydrates, polymers are
hydrocolloids, used as gel forming components,
sweetener, binder, flavoring agents, lubricants,
taste masking agents to prepare easy to swallow
compositions. One of the trends in this area is of
study the useful substances of natural origin, for
such substances tend to be biodegradable,
biocompatible andnon-toxic.5 The literature
survey reveals that ‘mucilage’ obtained from P.
ovata husk has greatly attracted the attention of
Researcher workers, in this area during last
decades.2
India is a major source of the global
supplier/production of Isapghula as its cultivated
variety consists of more mucilage percentage
than the wild variety. It is mainly cultivated in
North-Gujarat, North –West Rajasthan covering
an area of approximately 16,000 hectares. In
India, approximately 50,000 hectares of land
used for its cultivation. Till date natural
carbohydrate are used in modern dosage form
for release control, also in the form of matrix
material, encapsulating excipients, coating
material, on as a carrier to the target the drug to
tissue or site-specific drug delivery system.2
Recent trends in pharmaceutical manufacturing
are inclining towards the use of plant based
natural product in a place of synthetic additives
wherever possible due to above properties. Not
only in the formulation of the conventional
dosage form, these plant based natural material
are studied and are being explored for their role
in novel drug delivery system.2
Phytochemistry and pharmacology
of P. ovata
Phytoconstituents of P. ovata
Psyllium husk contains a high proportion of
hemicellulose, composed of a xylan backbone
linked with arabinose, rhamnose, and
galacturonic acid units (arabinoxylans).
Phytochemical investigation of Plantago species
revealed their high potential to produce a wide
array of secondary bioactive metabolites, i.e.
iridoids, phenols, polysaccharides, sterols,
alkaloids and cumatines that have utilities as The
seed consists of 35 percent soluble and 65
percent insoluble polysaccharides (cellulose,
hemicellulose and lignin). Psyllium is classified
as a mucilaginous fiber due to its powerful
ability to form a gel in water. This ability comes
from its role as the endosperm of the P. ovata
seed, where it functions to retain water in order
to prevent the seed from drying out. Pysilium
seeds contain over 30% of hydrocolloidal
polysaccharide (mucilage) in the outer seed coat,
fixed oils, tannin, aucubin glycoside (iridoid),
sugars, sterols and protein supplemented food
and as drug to treat human diseases.2
It is mainly composed of xylose, arabinose and
galacturonic acid with rhamnose and galactose.
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Two polysaccharide fractions have been
separated from the mucilage. One of them is
soluble in cold water and on hydrolysis yields
D-xylose (46%), an aldobiouronic acid (40%),
L-arabinose (7%) and insoluble residue (2%);
the other fraction is soluble in hot water forming
a highly viscous solution which sets to a gel on
cooling and yields on hydrolysis D-xylose
(80%), L-arabinose (14%), aldobiouronic acid
(0.3%) and trace of D-galactose. In addition to
mucilage, seeds contain a semi drying bright
yellow coloured fatty oil (5%), small amounts of
aucubin and tannin and an active principle
exhibiting acetylcholine like action.3
The data are compatible with a structure
consisting of a densely substituted main chain of
3, trisaccharide branches having the sequence L-
Araf-a-(1-3)-D-Xylp-B (1-3)-L-Araf. The
presence of this sequence is supported by
methylation and NMR data, and by the isolation
of the disaccharide 3-O-B-D- Xylopyranosyl-L-
arabinose as a product of partial acid hydrolysis
of polysaccharide3
The constituent fatty acids in the oil are
linolenic, 0.2; linoleic, 47.9; oleic, 36.7;
palmitic, 3.7; stearic, 6.9; and lignoceric 0.8 %.
The amino acids reported in the seed are valine,
alanine, glycine, glutamic acid, cystine, lysine,
leucine and tyrosine. The dehusked seed is
found rich in starch. Seeds also contain various
bases, sugars, sterols and protein. Wild collected
seed yield less mucilage than the cultivated
species.3
Mucilages of Isabgol
Mucilage that is responsible for the laxative
action since D-xylan polymers are insoluble in
water, it is proposed39.The physiologically
active, gel-forming fraction of the alkali-
extractable polysaccharides of plantago ovata
Forsk seed husk (Ispaghula seed) and some
derived partial hydrolysis products were -studied
by compositional and methylation analysis and
NMR spectroscopy. Resolving the conflicting
claims of previous investigators, the material
was found to be a neutral arabinoxylan
(arabinose 22.6%, xylose 74%, molar basis; only
traces of other sugars) with about 35% of non-
reducing terminal residues, the polysaccharide is
highly branched. The data are compatible with a
structure consisting of a densely substituted
main chain of 3, trisaccharide branches having
the sequence L-Araf-a-(1-3)-D-Xylp-B (1-3)-L-
Araf. The presence of this sequence is supported
by methylation and NMR data, and by the
isolation of the disaccharide 3-O-B-D-
Xylopyranosyl-L-arabinose as a product of
partial acid hydrolysis of polysaccharide.3
Pharmacological actions
Plantago ovata is a well-known medicinal plant
in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease
(IBD). P. ovata seeds ameliorated the
development of colonic inflammation in
transgenic rats as evidenced by an improvement
of intestinal cytoarchitecture, significant
decrease in some of the pro-inflammatory
mediators and higher production of short-chain
fatty acids . Alcoholic extract of the seeds
exhibit cholinergic properties. It has been found
to decrease blood pressure in anaesthetized cats
and dogs, inhibit the isolated and perfused hearts
of rabbits and frogs and stimulate the movement
of intestine of rabbits, rats and guinea-pigs. The
activity of the extract on smooth muscle is
inhibited by atropine. The seed oil has shown the
property of reducing cholesterol level of serum
in rabbit . The use of linoleic acid-rich oil
obtained from embryo has been suggested as a
dietary hypocholesterolemic agent in place of
corn oil. Feeding of the embryo oil as dietary
supplement for lowering serum cholesterol level
gave encouraging results in experimental
animals. Adding husk of isabgol to the diet of
patient suffering from atheromatous heart
diseases showed significant reduction in the
frequency of anginal attack. The glucoside
named aucubin, found in the seeds is
physiologically inactive. The tannins which are
present in appreciable quantities have little
action on entamoeba or bacteria. The ethanol
and acetone extract of P. ovata showed good
antibacterial activity against E. coli.4
Pyllium: role as a novel drug
delivery system
Biolobically Isabgol is Plantago ovate (family
Plantaginaceaae). The seed and husk of Isabgol
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are widely used in pharmaceutical industry as
demulcent, emollient, laxative, as an adjunct to
dietary and drug therapy on lipid and glucose
levels and in other diseases. The seed and husk
of Isabgol contains mucilage which is present in
the epidermis of the seed. It is official in IP, BP
and USP. It is used in food and pharmaceuticals
at a dose level of 5-6 g twice a day. The
mucilage of isabgol consists of pentose and
aldobionic acid, which on hydrolysis yield
arabinose, galactose, galactouronic acid and
rhamnose. The Isabgol mucilage has the
property to swell up to 10-14 times of it’s
original volume.4
The physiologically active component of
psyllium husk is shown to be a highly branched,
neutral arabinoxylan consisting of a xylose
backbone and arabinose- and xylose-containing
side chains.4
It is just a decade back when some modifications
were tried to carry out to the physical and
chemical properties of the husk. One such
attempt was carried out by Mishra A and
coworkers. They synthesized a graft copolymer
of Psyllium mucilage and polyacrylamide using
ceric–ion induced redox. In order to of utilize
the polymerization. The grafted copolymer was
found to dissolve faster than Psyllium mucilage
in water and had a higher intrinsic viscosity than
the mucilage. It’s only eight years back when
Psyllium was reportedly used as a polymer for a
sustained release formulation. After that several
attempts have been made to explore the
potentials of Psyllium to control the drug release
rate in one way or another. Some of the
available appreciated works have been reviewed
and briefly described under the use of Psyllium
as
Hydrogels
Sustained release agent/Release retardant
Gastroretentive agent
Superdisintegrant
Microparticals
Hydrogels
Psyllium husk for the development of a novel
hydrogel system for the controlled drug delivery
devices, Singh et al. synthesized Psyllium and
N- hydroxymethylacrylamide based polymeric
networks by using N, N methylenebisacrylamide
(N,N’MBAAm) as crosslinker and ammonium
persulfate (APS) as initiator. The polymeric
network thus formed was characterized by
various sophisticated analytical methods like
SEM, FT-IR and TGA. In order to study the
drug release mechanism and diffusion
coefficient from the prepared hydrogel, two
model drugs, Salicylic acid and Tetracyclin HCl
were chosen. The drug release pattern has also
been studied at varying pH and in the solution
of pH 7.4 buffer, the rate of polymer chain
reaction was found out to be more as compared
to the rate of drug diffusion from the synthesized
hydrogel and also that the rate of drug release
followed Fick’s Law of diffusion.5
In another attempt, Singh B and team also
prepared the Psyllium 2-hydroxyl-
ethylmethacrylate (HEMA) and acrylamide
(AAm)-based polymeric networks by using the
same crosslinker and initiator.52 The polymeric
network thus formed was called psy-cl-poly
(HEMA-co-AAm). To evaluate the swelling and
drug release mechanism from the hydrogel, the
swelling kinetics of the gel and the in vitro
release dynamics of Tetracyclin HCl has been
studied. The value of diffusion exponent ‘n’ for
both swelling kinetics and drug release
dynamics was found out to be 0.5 which showed
that Fickian type mechanism has occurred.5
Singh B and Sharma V in 2010 reported their
combined efforts to develop a Psyllium based
hydrogel through graft polymerization
technique. They first evaluated the optimum
conditions for the synthesis of Psyllium-poly
(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-poly (acrylic acid)
blended hydrogel which have been obtained as
1% v/v acrylic acid; 2% w/v PVA and 1 g of
Psyllium and then they characterize the same by
SEM, FTIR and swelling studies. Antibiotic
Tetracycline HCl was chosen as model drug and
its release from the hydrogel was observed more
in pH 2.2 buffer than in 7.4 buffer or in distilled
water, thus favoring the suitability for peptic
ulcer caused by Halicobacter pylori.6 Also,
Psyllium has been reported to cure ulcerative
colitis, hence the designed system was supposed
to have double potential to cure ulcer.
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Sustained release agent/release retardant
The sustained release properties of the psyllium
husk has also been explored and evaluated by
Desai A et al. They formulated the sustained
release granules of amoxicillin trihydrate using
various combinations of psyllium husk and
HPMC K4M. They observed a faster release of
amoxicillin from the granules containing only
psyllium husk while the use of a combination of
psyllium husk and HPMC K4M provided a
sustained release of the drug. The combination
showed this behavior due to the reduction of the
immediate swelling of the Psyllium matrix by
incorporation of HPMC K4M.6
Lalwani and Parikh worked upon the preparation
and evaluation of an Isabgol based additive to be
used as matrix for directly compressible tablets
of Acetaminophen using agglomeration
technique. The agglomerates were prepared
using varying proportions of Lactose, Calcium
hydrogen phosphate dehydrate and Avicel along
with Isabgol and Hydroxy methyl propyl
cellulose and evaluated for their flow properties.
Tablets were directly compressed in different
batches using 30% Acetaminophen and 70% of
different agglomerates and studied for their
controlled release characteristics of the drug.
The findings favored the use of Lactose and
Calcium hydrogen phosphate dehydrates in the
ratio of 1:2 to get the controlled release up to 12
hours.6
Panchal VM successfully formulated the
extended release Acetaminophen-Psyllium husk
matrix tablets and studied the influence of
excepients on the drug release kinetics. He used
Psyllium husk as matricing agent in drug:
polymer ratio of 50:1 and the time taken to
release 70% of the drug was found to be 11.6
hrs. He also observed that the increase in the
polymer level decreased the drug release from
the matrix due to the ability of Psyllium to form
a thick gel layer at higher concentration. The
addition of the soluble additives in the
formulation were reported to increase the drug
dissolution rate while the addition of insoluble
additives decreased it.
Gastroretentive agent
Chavanpatil M et al. in 2005 proposed a new
strategy basedon sustained release formulation
for the development of gastroretentive dosage
form of Ofloxacin for once dailydosing.61
Different polymers such as Psyllium husk,
HPMCK100M and crosspovidon alone and in
combination were tried to get the floatable and
swellable formulation in order to increase the
Gastric residence time and to get the desired
sustained release profile over a period of 24 hrs.
Effect of different concentrations of the above
polymers were studied on the buoyancy lag
time, duration of buoyancy, dimensional
stability, drug content and in vitro release profile
Ofloxacin.7 They observed that as the
concentration of Psyllium husk was increased
from 75 mg to 100 mg, the formulation was
capable to retain its integrity upto 24hrs and the
drug release was also reduced. It was thought to
be due to the gelling property of the husk as it
forms thick gel at higher concentration. Also the
formulations containing 100 mg of the Psyllium
husk showed similar pattern of the drug release
as compared to the marketed formulation. The
optimized formulation with composition-
Ofloxacin (400 mg), Psyllium husk (100mg),
HPMC K100M (40 mg), Sodium bicarbonate
(70 mg), crosspovidon (200 mg), PVP K30
(20mg) and Betacyclodextrin (100 mg) was
subjected to stability studies as per the ICH
guidelines and in vivo studies in 24 healthy
volunteers. The developed optimized
formulation with composition Ofloxacin (400
mg) Psyllium husk (100 mg) HPMC K100M
(40 mg) Crosspovidone (200 mg) Sodium
bicarbonate (70 mg) Betacyclodextrin (100 mg)
per tablet was found to have almost similar in
vitro release profile as of the marketed
formulation.7 The similarity factor f2 was found
to be 91.12 for the developed formulation and
the marketed formulation, indicating the release
was almost similar to that of the marketed
formulation (Zanocin). From their studies, they
concluded that psyllium husk and HPMC
K100M in combination can be promising
polymers for gastroretentive drug delivery
systems. The optimized formulation followed
Higuchi kinetics while the drug release
mechanism was found to be anomalous type,
Deokar G. et al. Pharmaceutical and Biological Evaluations 2016; vol. 3 (1): 32-41.
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controlled by diffusion through the swollen
matrix.7
Garg R and Gupta GD Prepared and evaluated
the gastroretentive floating effervescent as
well as non-effervescent tablets of Acyclovir63
and Silymarin64 as model drugs for
prolongation of gastric residence time .Floating
effervescent tablets were formulated by using
hydroxypropyl methylcellulose K 4M, K 15M,
psyllium husk as different polymers,
crospovidone and microcrystallinecellulose as
swelling agents and gas generating agent like
sodium bicarbonate and citric acid.8 Floating
non-effervescent tablets were prepared by
polypropylene foam powder and different matrix
forming polymers like HPMC K 4M, Carbopol
934P, xanthan gum and sodium alginate. All the
formulations were evaluated for floating
properties, swelling characteristics and in vitro
drug release studies.8 The drug release kinetics
were evaluated using the linear regression
method and was found to follow both the
Higuchi and the Korsmeyer and Peppas
equation. The drug release mechanism was
found fickian type in most of the
formulations. According to the author the
developed floating tablets of Silymarin and
acyclovir may be used in clinic for prolonged
drug release for at least 24 h, there by improving
the bioavailability and patient compliance.8
Asnaashari S et al in 2011 formulation using
metronidazole for preparing floating dosage
forms that are designed to retain in the stomach
for a long time for better eradication of
Helicobacter pylori in peptic ulcer diseases.
They designed various formulations using multi-
factorial design. HPMC, psyllium and carbopol
in different concentrations alone and in
combinations were used as floating agents, and
sodium bicarbonate was added as effervescent
agent. The tablets were assessed for hardness,
friability, drug loading; floating ability and
release profiles as well as kinetics of drug
release. Formulations containing HPMC alone
showed prolonged lag times for buoyancy.9
Adding psyllium to these formulations had
significantly reduced relative lag times. The
developed formulations were able to float
immediately and showed buoyancy for at least
8h. The sustained profiles of the 10 models were
assessed and the kinetics of the release pattern of
metronidazole from the tablets fitted best to
Power law, Weibull model and Higuchi models
in respect overall to mean percentage error
values of 3.8, 4.73 and 5.77, respectively for
calcium carbonate-based tablets and 2.95, 6.39
and 3.9 respectively, for calcium silicate-based
tablets. The author suggested that these systems
of metronidazole were able to float in the gastric
condition and could control the drug release
from the tablets.10
V. S. Patil et al in 2011 In the present work,
floating gastroretentive formulation of
Ranitidine HCl was formulated to sustained
release of Ranitidine HCl above its site of
absorption. To modulate the release
characteristics, HPMC (K4M) and natural
swelling agent Psyllum husk are used for single-
unit floating matrix tablets by a direct
compression technique.11 The floating approach
was achieved by the use of Sodium bicarbonate.
The prepared floating tablets were evaluated for
their floating behavior, swelling studies, in-vitro
drug release studies and kinetic analysis of the
release data.12 The optimize formulation shows
floating lag time within 3 min. The effect of
HPMC (K4M) and swelling agent Psyllum husk
on drug release was observed .Ranitidine HCl
shows drug release till 12 hrs due to gel forming
property of HPMC (K4M) and swelling capacity
of Psyllum husk. Form the results, it can be
conclude that the prepared gastroretentive tablet
of Ranitidine HCl shows desirable release
profile, good floating and sustained effect in
stomach. The Fourier Transform Infra Red
Spectroscopy studies revealed that there is no
molecular interaction which may have
implications on drug release characteristics.13
P Sobhita Rani et al in 2014 Formulation and
Evaluation of HPMC and Physillium Husk
based floating tablets of Curcumin for Ulcer The
purpose of the present study was to develop
floating matrix tablets for Curcumin using
psyllium husk as release controlling polymer
and to compare the release pattern with synthetic
polymers like HPMC K15M and HPMC
K100M.Formulations were prepared by wet
granulation method and evaluated for floating
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lag time, swelling index, erosion, drug content
and In-vitro drug release profile. It was found
that floating duration of the formulation
containing psyllium husk alone was less than
that containing similar concentration of HPMC
K15M and HPMCK100M. Release rate of the
formulation containing psyllium husk in
combination with HPMC K15M more than the
formulation containing similar amount of
HPMCK100M. The in-vitro release data and
drug release mechanism of the optimized
formulation followed the higuchi kinetics and
matrix type respectively. It can be concluded
that psyllium husk can be a promising polymer
for gastro retentive floating drug delivery
systems in combination with synthetic
polymers.14
Disintegrant
The disintegrating property of Plantago ovata
mucilage was evaluated by Prajapati et al. They
prepared dispersibletablet of Nimesulide with
wet granulation technique. They found that the
mucilage was effective at low concentration as
super disintegrant. Further, the results revealed
that disintegrant property of isabgol mucilage
was equivalent to Ac-Di-Sol and superior to
sodium starch glycolate. Chakraborty S et al.
carried out a comparative study of natural
superdisintegrant over the synthetic counterpart
and obtained the similar results.1570 They
prepared fast dissolving tablets of acelofenac by
direct compression method employing
microcrystalline cellulose as a diluent and
isabgol or Ac-Di-Sol or sodium starch glycolate
as the disintegrant. The study arributed the better
disintegrating property of isabgol mucilage over
the Ac-Di-Sol and sodium starch glycolate and
also to the higher swelling index of isabgol
mucilage as compared to the Ac-Di-Sol and
sodium starch glycolate. The reduction in the
disintegration time of conventional tablets from
10 minutes to a minimum of 23 seconds was
observed and reported by Tahir MA et al after
addition of just 2-5% of dried isabgol extract in
their formulation of Diclofenac Sodium tablets.
Tablets were formulated by both wet granulation
method and direct compression method.16
Superdisintegrant features of isbagol were
further optimized by water absorption and in
vitro dispersion time. Dissolution profiles
suggested that the superdisintegrants action of
the dried Isabgol mucilage enhanced the release
of the drug from tablets with respect to
conventional marketed. Also the studies
suggested that directly compressed tablets
released drug more rapidly as compared to those
prepared by wet granulation process.17
Gokul Ghenge et al also attempted to developed
and characterize Fast Disintegrating Tablet of
Amlodipine besylate using mucilage of Plantago
ovata as a natural Superdisintegrant by direct
compression method using different
concentrations of Psyllium mucilage. The
optimized formulations showed very less in vitro
disintegration time of only 11.69 sec with rapid
in vitro dissolution within 16 mins. Also they
found that In vitro disintegration time decreases
with increase in concentration of Psyllium
mucillage. From the results of their study, they
suggested the use of Plantago ovata mucilege as
a natural super disintegrated18
Microparticals
Unique microparticals of Isoniazid with the
walls formed from alkaline extracted Ispaghula
husk were prepared by Maurya DP et al. and
reported in 2011. The team optimized the
formulation after studying the effect of four
independent variables (viz. Sodium alginate
concentration, concentration of alkaline extract
of Ispaghula husk, concentration of cross linking
agent and stirring speed) on the particle size and
entrapment efficiency.19 The optimized
formulation at conditions – Sodium alginate
(3.55% w/v), Alkaline extracted Ispaghula Husk
(3.60% w/v), cross linker concentration (7.82%
w/v) and at stirring speed of 1200 rpm was
found to exhibit 83.43% of total drug
entrapment with validity of 97.80% in the
particles of size 51.53 µm (validity = 96.37%).
The drug release profile of the formulated
micropaticles was studied following Higuchi
kinetics and the optimized formulation showed
the controlled release of the Isoniazid for more
than 12 hrs via non-Fickian diffusion.20 The In
vivo gamma scintigraphy study was also
performed on Wister rats and the presence of the
microparticals was observed in the intestinal
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lumen after 1 hr and were retained in the
intestine upto 12 hrs showing decreased
radioactivity % age.21
Functional benefits of Psyllium
fiber supplementation
Constipation and diarrhoea
Most dietary fiber sources promote laxation by
increasing colonic contents, which stimulate
propulsion. Unfermented or incompletely
fermented fiber and the accompanying moisture
it holds contributes to increase stool mass.22
These fibers also provide substrate for microbial
growth and induces therefore a greater bacterial
mass, another factor for increased colonic
content.23 Another benefit is that psyllium
containing stools contains an unfermented gel
which functions as an emollient and lubricant
leading to a greater ease of passage of the stools.
Psyllium fiber is widely used as a fiber
supplement for the treatment of constipation and
has in clinical trials repeatedly reported
significantly increased levels of stool moisture,
as well as wet and dry stool weight in healthy
subjects and in patients with gastrointestinal
disease 24 (It has been proposed that each gram
of Psyllium fiber increases stool weight an
average of 5.9-6.1 g compared with 4.9 - 5.4g
and 3.4 - 4.5 g for consumed wheat bran fiber or
oat bran fiber, respectively On the opposite of
the desired effect against constipation, and
because of its great ability to retain water,
Psyllium has also been shown to slow down the
gastric emptying time and colon transit, this
being of benefit for individuals with fecal
incontinence from liquid stools or diarrhea.26
Bowel diseases
Psyllium supplementation may be helpful in the
treatment of irritable bowel diseases,
inflammatory bowel disease and ulcerative
colitis. While the beneficial effects of Psyllium
in treatment of irritable bowel syndrome is most
probably associated with its anticonstipation
activity, the beneficial effects on ulcerative
colitis and inflammatory bowel disease seem to
be due to anticonstipation activity together with
increased levels of the short-chain fatty acid
butyrate (anaerobic fermentation of Psyllium
fiber in the intestines results in a considerable
production of the short-chain fatty acids acetate,
propionate, and butyrate) 27 which have anti-
inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties as well
as being an important source of energy-yielding
substrates to the colonic mucosa Psyllium
supplementation is widely used also for
haemorrhoids and diverticulitis, although
evidence has been questioned its consumption
has been shown to be beneficial for hemorrhoids
with improvement in reduction of bleeding on
contact and of congested hemorrhoidal
cushions.28 The treatment should, however, last
more than a month as no amelioration was noted
in another trial of 30 days. Less evidence is
available for the effectiveness of fiber in the
treatment of uncomplicated diverticulitis yet
widely used among patients to relieve overall
symptoms.29
Funding: No funding sources
Conflict of interest: None declared
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