Modified pectins for colon-specific drug delivery

Treatment of local diseases such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome and colonic cancer by targeting drug to the colon is a viable approach. Due to gastric degradation of drugs, proteins and peptides, only minimum amount of drug gets absorbed when administered orally and shows little therapeutic activity. Hence the strategy of delivering drugs to colon known as colon targeted drug delivery evolved. Pectin a naturally occurring biodegradable polysaccharide has gained importance as a carrier for colon-specific delivery attributed to swelling nature as well as the ability to resist gastric degradation. This review describes the chemistry of pectin, mechanism of action and various novel modified pectin formulations aimed at targeting the colon.