A NOVEL APPROACH FOR DRUG DELIVERY: A MEDICATED CHEWING GUM

About author:
Kalpen N Patel*, Maulika S Patel
Dept. of Pharmaceutical Technology
Shree Krishna Institute of Pharmacy, Shankhalpur, Becharaji, Mehsana.
*e-mail : [email protected]

INTRODUCTION:
Medicated Chewing gum is a potentially useful means of administering drugs either locally or systemically via, the oral cavity. The Medicated Chewing gum has through the years gained increasing acceptance as a drug delivery system. Today improved technology and extended know how have made it possible to develop and manufacture Medicated Chewing gum with predefined properties. Consequently today Chewing gum is a convenient drug delivery system, which is appropriate for a wide range of active substances.
Key words: Medicated Chewing gum, Xerostomia alleviation, Convenient Drug Delivery System
DESCRIPTION:
Medicated Chewing gums are solid or semi-solid pharmaceutical dosage forms and contain one or more active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and water soluble or insoluble excipient blended with a water-insoluble gum base. The drug product is intended to be chewed in the oral cavity for a specific period of time, after which the insoluble gum base is discarded. Medicated Chewing gums are defined by the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) and the guidelines for pharmaceutical dosage forms issued in 1991 by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human use (CPMP) as ‘‘solid single dose preparations with a base consisting mainly of gum that are intended to be chewed but not swallowed, providing a slow steady release of the medicine contained’’.
From the professional view, the role of gum chewing is more controversial. Others perceive that gum chewing, which occurs after eating, causes dental plaque pH levels to increase to a safe level and considers sugar-less gum as the least cariogenic. This single item of confectionery clearly has a considerable impact on the mouths of many of dental patients.
In 2006, the annual market worldwide for Chewing gum was about 1.3 million tons and worth approximately US$1.9 billion. Controlling the release of the drug is a major concern because it is dependent on several variables such as chewing time, aqueous solubility, and the gum’s composition.
CONCLUSION
When formulating drugs intended to act locally in the oral cavity, Chewing gum should be considered as a potential delivery system. For most drugs there are realistic possibilities of formulating them into a suitable Chewing gum delivery system, although active agents with an extremely bitter taste would not be suitable candidates. Poorly water-soluble drugs require specialized formulation techniques to promote release, but these techniques are reasonably well developed. Dental health Chewing gum for caries prevention has come to stay and the indications are that it will become more and more accepted.