Inulin-based carriers for colon drug targeting

Inulin is a heterogeneous green polysaccharide obtained from natural sources. It is found in a variety of regularly eaten vegetables, fruits, cereals, and in their roots and rhizomes including onion, leek, wheat, garlic, dahlia, asparagus, banana, chicory, etc. It has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) as a nutritional dietary supplement for infants. Recently, many researchers have given much attention to inulin and inulin-based composite for delivering drugs directly to the colon by preventing its degradation in the stomach and small intestine. However, these findings are not embodied collectively and broadly. Therefore, the present review represents to fill up these gaps in a simple way, which might help the upcoming researchers to perform more researches on inulin. This article reviews the physicochemical characteristics of inulin and its degradation by colonic microflora. In addition, this article also provides brief information on various properties of inulin when used as hydrogel and nanocarrier in delivering drugs to the colon. The various chemical modifications of inulin, conjugation with other drugs and blending it with many other biopolymers has also resulted in an enhancement of the physicochemical properties suited for colon targeting.