Natural Polymers and Herbal Medicine Based Therapy for Colonic Diseases

Colonic drug delivery has gained remarkable importance for the delivery of the drugs for the treatment of local diseases associated with the colon. To achieve successful colonic delivery, colon targeting is of prime importance. Various natural therapies, available for the treatment of colonic diseases like ulcerative colitis, Intestinal bowel syndrome, colon cancer, diverticulitis, etc., are based on natural polymers such as guar gum, pectin, dextran, chitosan, inulin, amylose, etc. Interest in these biodegradable polymers is increasing day by day because these are safe, non-toxic, and economic and are chemically compatible with the other excipients in the formulation. Non-starch, linear polysaccharides remain intact in the physiological environment of the stomach and the small intestine, but are degraded by the bacterial inhabitants of human colon which make them potentially successful in targeted delivery systems to the colon. Some of the herbs used in the treatment of colonic diseases are Aloe vera, Curcuma longa, Curcuma xanthorrhiza, Cynara scolymus, Ulmus rubra, Psyllium, etc. There are certain preparations such as Boswellia serrata nanoparticles, curcumin microspheres available in the market to treat colon cancer. Recently, continuous efforts have been taken on designing colon-specific delivery systems with improved site specificity and versatile drug release kinetics. Hence, herbal medicine based treatment becomes widespread and prevalent, with encouraging results from clinical trials. Further evidence about the components of herbs and their bio-functions will shed light on clinical administrations of herb medicine in future. Keeping in view the safety of herbs, herbal medicine itself or in combination with conventional therapies would largely benefit patients with colonic diseases and other immune disorders.