Gum-based hydrogels in drug delivery

Hydrogels are three-dimensional cross-linked networks generally composed of hydrophilic polymers having the capability to hold high volume of aqueous fluids devoid of altering the matrix structure. Recent years, various kinds of hydrogels have already achieved the attention for the use in drug-releasing applications. Hydrogels made of natural gums such as chitosan, alginate, gellan gum, pectin, tamarind gum, sterculia gum, guar gum, and locust bean gum have been investigated as effectual drug-releasing carriers to control the releasing of numerous drugs. This chapter deals with an inclusive discussion of a number of gum-based hydrogels for the application in drug delivery. Besides this, sources and classifications of gum have been explained, in detail.