Okra (Hibiscus esculentus) gum-alginate blend mucoadhesive beads for controlled glibenclamide release.

The utility of isolated okra (Hibiscus esculentus) gum (OG) was evaluated as a potential sustained drug release polymer-blends with sodium alginate in the development of controlled glibenclamide release ionically-gelled beads for oral use. OG was isolated from okra fruits and its solubility, pH, viscosity and moisture content were studied. Glibenclamide-loaded OG-alginate blend beads were prepared using CaCl2 as cross-linking agent through ionic-gelation technique. These ionically gelled beads showed drug entrapment efficiency of 64.19 ± 2.02 to 91.86 ± 3.24%. The bead sizes were within 1.12 ± 0.11 to 1.28 ± 0.15 mm. These glibenclamide-loaded OG-alginate blend beads exhibited sustained in vitro drug release over a prolonged period of 8 h. The in vitro drug release from these OG-alginate beads were followed controlled-release (zero-order) pattern with super case-II transport mechanism. The beads were also characterized by SEM and FTIR. The swelling and degradation of these beads was influenced by the pH of the test medium. These beads also exhibited good mucoadhesivity with goat intestinal mucosa.