INTRODUCTION:

The increasing research interest in natural polymeric material has led to the discovery of many natural polymers which are exploited extensively as adjuvant in different pharmaceutical dosage form. Due to their easy availability, cost-effectiveness, eco-friendliness, non-irritant, non-toxic, bio-degradable, compatible nature and capable of undergoing multiple chemical modifications, plant derived polymers are highly in demand¹.

Their extensive application as excipient in various pharmaceutical dosage forms like nanoparticles, matrix controlled system, suspensions, implants, buccal films and microspheres witnesses that they are far superior to other synthetic excipients². The naturally obtained polymer having long chain and functional group allows them to be tailored to get modified product with altered physicochemical properties³.

Mucilages are polysaccharide mixtures of high molecular weight present intracellularly in plant having sugar and uronic acid units⁴. They act as storage for food and water for plants and also act as membrane thickener⁵. They have the characteristics to swell on contact with water due to presence of hydrophilic molecules but precipitate on adding of alcohol. Basella alba L. having the synonym Basella rubra Roxb. of family Basellaceae is one of the commonly available plant known to possess high proportion of mucilage in its leaves and stem⁶. It is an evergreen perennial climber which grows mainly in hot and humid climate⁷.

The extensive study of the research works on Basella alba shows that mucilage obtained from its leaves and stem is used as an adjuvant in pharmaceutical dosage forms.

Fig1: Basella alba Linn.

Extraction and Isolation of Mucilage⁸

The leaves and stem of the plant are collected, washed and dried under shade until constant weight is achieved. The dried leaves and stem are then powdered to reduce the particle size. The powdered leaves are then defatted by adding petroleum ether using Soxhlet apparatus at a temperature of 60°-80°C. Distilled water is added to the resultant material four times its weight at room temperature for 6hr. The soaked material is then refluxed on water bath at 70°C for 2 hr. The viscous solution obtained is filtered through eight fold of muslin cloth. Precipitation of the mucilage is done by adding equal volume of acetone slowly to the filtrate. The mucilage obtained after precipitation is separated and washed thrice with acetone to remove any traces of water. The mucilage is then dried at 40°C, powdered and kept for further use. It is found from the studies that the extraction yield of mucilages increases with increasing temperature but up to 86.1°C above which it decreases. This behaviour may be due to the hydrolysis effect of mucilage which decreases the extraction yield at higher temperature⁹.

Fig 2: Basella alba mucilage¹⁰

Characterisation of Mucilage:

1. The percentage yield of mucilage is calculated using the formula¹⁰:

Yield (%) = Weight of isolated mucilage/ Weight of B.alba leaves/ stem

Ramu et al (2011) have found in his study that the yield of the mucilage by alcohol precipitation is 9±2% w/w whereas using acetone gives a comparative higher yield of 14.8%w/w^9,11.

2. Identification tests:

Various identification tests are done to check the presence of mucilage. The following observations confirm the presence of mucilage^12,13.

Table 1. Identification tests of mucilage

Si No.	IdentificationTests	Observation
1	Mounted in 95% ethanol	Transparent angular masses
2	Mounted in ruthenium red	Particles stained red
3	Mounted in Iodine solution.	Particles stained blue
4	Mucilage +Methylene blue	Deep blue
5	Mucilage + Aq.KOH solution	Swell
6	Powder+ Iodine sol.+ Zinc chloride	Violet
7	Test for Carbohydrates( Molisch’s test)	Purple colour
8	Warming with 5M NaOH solution	Brown colour
9	Powder+ Corralin soda solution	Red
10	Powder + Cupric tartaric solution	Red precipitate

3. Organoleptic evaluation:

The powdered mucilage obtained from freeze drying shows the colour of mucilage as brownish green ¹⁴whereas mucilage obtained by air drying or oven drying reports the colour of mucilage as off white or brownish⁹. The odour of mucilage varies from odourless to characteristics in nature. The taste of the mucilage is found to be mucilaginous.

Determination of physicochemical properties of B.alba mucilage:

4. pH, Solubility and Melting point:

The study carried by Bhat et al (2015) showed that pH of 1% w/v solution of mucilage is found to be within 5-6.5¹⁵. The viscosity of 1%w/w mucilage solution is found to be 132.33cp whereas the viscosity of 4% w/v mucilage solution is found to be 195.67cp. Thus, the study suggests that mucilage of higher concentration have low pH and high viscosity¹⁴. Mucilage have the characteristics to form viscous colloidal solution when dissolved in cold water but dissolves to form solution when added to hot water¹⁰. The swelling capacity of mucilage is found to be 4.33±0.29ml/g dry weight and the moisture content of mucilage as 2.63%. The swelling study of B.alba mucilage shows that it has good water holding capacity as it swells appreciably in water⁹. B.alba mucilage being a polysaccharide, have a melting point above 240°C⁹.

5. Rheologic properties:

Chou et al (1987) have done a study where mucilage extracted from the leaves and stem of Basella alba was characterized structurally and rheologic properties of mucilage and starch mucilage blend were determined. The weight-average molecular weight of mucilage extracted from stem was found to be 2.39×106 which is higher as compared to the molecular weight of mucilage extracted from leaf i.e. 1.91×106. The intrinsic viscosity of the B.alba mucilage was determined by Cannon-Fenske glass capillary viscometer¹⁶. Intrinsic viscosity of stem mucilage solution was found to be greater than leaf mucilage solutions. Basella mucilage from both leaf and stem followed shear-thinning property which increased on increasing the concentration. Various proportion of wheat starch mixed with B.alba mucilage showed significant synergistic effect but B.alba mucilage on addition with tapioca starch solution did not showed any synergistic effect, on the contrary, gelation was suppressed when mucilage was added to potato starch solutions¹⁷.

Composition of Basella alba mucilage:

The mucilage obtained from B. alba leaves is composed of polysaccharides and starch-type glucan. Starch iodide complex can be used for its separation¹⁸. As per the report, the purification of B.alba mucilage was done by DEAE 650M (hydroxylated methacrylic polymer beads functionalized with diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) weak anion exchange groups) eluted by Sodium chloride. Protein detection of each fraction was done by UV at 280 nm, and the total sugar content can be assayed by phenol-sulfuric acid method. The composition of monosaccharide in B.alba mucilage was determined by thin layer chromatography using three solvent system for detection of sugar component¹⁹. The TLC of acid-hydrolysed polysaccharide showed that the major monosaccharide was D- galactose with minor monosaccharide L-arabinose¹⁴. The studies suggest that Basella polysaccharide is composed of galactose, arabinose, glucose, galacturonic acid and rhamnose (41:24:16:13:5). Aqueous extract of B. alba leaf is composed of starch-type glucan (0.35%) which mainly consists L-arabinose and D-galactose with minute quantities of uronic acid and L-rhamnose¹⁶. Results showed that the mucilage of Basella alba was comprised of 38–39 molar % of galactose, 28–36% of arabinose, 4–11% of galacturonic acid, and 3–5% rhamnose, with a weight average molecular weight of about 1.9-2.4 × 106 ¹⁷. In another study, the functional groups present in B.alba mucilage was detected by IR spectrum which confirmed the presence of hydroxyl group, carboxyl group, keto group, an aldehyde and phenol group⁸.

Pharmaceutical applications of B.alba mucilage:

Mucilages obtained from the stem and leaves of B.alba have varying pharmaceutical application as binding agent, suspending agent, disintegrating agent and gelling agent. It is also used as release retardant and matrix former for controlling the release of drug. B.alba mucilages can also be used as encapsulating agent.

1. Binding agent:

Binders are generally used to convert powders into granules for preparation of tablet. They hold the particles together by increasing cohesiveness²⁰. Ramu et al (2011) have showed the effectiveness of Basella alba leaf mucilage as binding agent in tablets loaded with Paracetamol prepared by wet granulation method¹¹. Different concentrations of B.alba mucilage (2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10% w/w) were evaluated for binding property, out of which 7.5% w/w binder concentration showed more optimum results as tablet binder. All the in process quality control tests, disintegration time and in vitro dissolution profiles were checked and acceptable results were found. The study revealed that on increasing the concentration of binding agent, hardness of tablet increased, friability decreased and disintegration time increased. The drug release from tablets showed slight decrease with increase in binder concentration¹¹.

2. Disintegrating agent:

Disintegrant are agents that help to break the tablets into smaller particles the moment it comes in contact with GI fluid. In formulating a tablet, disintegrating agent help the tablet to disintegrate more rapidly in aqueous system²¹. Bhat et al (2015) have checked the effectiveness of B.alba leaf mucilage as disintegrant by comparing with other synthetic superdisintegrants like Crosscarmellose sodium and Crosspovidone for preparing fast dissolving tablets loaded with Diclofenac sodium by direct compression method. The formulations were prepared and evaluated for quality control test and in vitro release study. The results showed that the water absorption capacity increased on increasing the concentration of disintegrant. The disintegration time of formulations containimg B.alba mucilage disintegrant was found to be least as compared to cross carmellose sodium and cross povidone. The dissolution study revealed that formulations prepared with B.alba mucilage released the drug at a faster rate as compared to crosscarmellose sodium and cross povidone formulations¹⁵.

3. Gelling agent:

According to USP, gels also called jellies are semisolid systems containing small inorganic particles suspended in liquid or large organic molecules impermeated by liquid²². Chatchawal et al (2010) have conducted a study to check the physical and biological properties of gel prepared from the mucilage obtained from stem of B.alba. Mucilage extracted from the stem of Basella alba was purified and its composition was determined. The pH of Basella mucilage was found to be suitable for skin. The formulation of gel from mucilage showed that, up to 80% mucilage could be added into the gel preparation. The gel obtained from Basella mucilage provided good stability and can be used for cosmetic and medicine for skin diseases¹⁴.

4. Release retardant:

Release retardant are substances that slow down the release of drug and act as sustained release agent. They slowly and continuously release medication for a long period of time prolonging the therapeutic efficacy of the medication²³. Yamunappa et al (2016) have prepared Diclofenac matrix tablets by wet granulation technique taking various concentrations of Basella alba leaf mucilage (2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, 10% and 12.5%w/w) and compared the release rates with formulations containing guar gum. The release study confirmed that formulation containing 12.5% w/w B.alba mucilage showed slow and continuous drug release of 98% over a time of 12 hr whereas formulation containing guar gum showed 70% drug release in 12 hours. The release of drug from formulation was found to follow the anomalous non-Fickian diffusion. The results of in vitro studies confirmed that the rate and extent of drug release decreased with increase in mucilage concentration. Thus the study proved that B.alba leaf mucilage has the capacity to retard the release of drug from matrix tablets even at low concentrations²⁴.

5. Matrix former:

Matrix former controls the release of drug from formulation and are used to prepare sustained release dosage form. Harika et al (2016) have carried out a study to prepare nanoparticles taking B.alba mucilage from leaf and chitosan as matrix former for controlled release of cefixime²⁵. Coacervation method was followed to prepare nanoparticles. The in-vitro drug release study showed a controlled drug release of 99.53% for a period of 24hrs with an initial burst release. It was seen that the release of drug decreased with increase in mucilage concentration because of less diffusion of drug through it. The release of drug through the nanoparticles followed non fickian diffusion.

6. Encapsulating agent:

Encapsulating agents are used to protect the drug from external environmental condition and are effectively used for safe and targeted delivery. In a study, mucilage was extracted from leaves of Basella alba and used as encapsulating agent for lipophilic antioxidants by Das et al (2017). Antisolvent precipitation method was used for loading the flavones and polyphenol into B.alba mucilage matrix. The encapsulated hydrophobic antioxidants in mucilage matrix showed increased water solubility and enhanced bioactivity in aqueous medium²⁶. The encapsulation in B.alba mucilage increased the hydrophilicity, bioavailability, biocompatibility and antioxidant activity of flavones and polyphenol in aqueous medium. The study showed that B.alba mucilage is more effective encapsulating agent as compared to zein and casein as B.alba mucilage does not aggregate on change in pH. Since B.alba mucilage does not have isoelectric point, so they do not show any tendency to aggregate on changing pH.

7. Suspending agent:

Suspending agent stabilizes the suspension by lowering the rate of sedimentation of dispersed phase particles and prevents caking. A study was conducted by Pal et al (2010) where Basella alba mucilage from leaves was isolated and evaluated for its suspending properties. Suspension of Zinc oxide (20% w/v) were prepared taking different concentration of Basella alba mucilage as suspending agent²⁷. Certain parameters like degree of flocculation, sedimentation profile, and redispersibility of suspension was matched with suspension containing tragacanth, bentonite and sodium carboxy methylcellulose as suspending agents and B.alba leaves mucilage showed superior suspending property than tragacanth and bentonite.

8. Other Rheologic applications:

· Manosroi et al (2020) have carried out a study to prepare artificial saliva from mucilage extracted from the flower of Basella alba. Artificial saliva was prepared taking Basella alba flower mucilage, calcium chloride, potassium chloride, sodium fluoride and preservatives dispersed in phosphate buffer of pH 7.4. The viscosity of artificial saliva formulation obtained was 8.9±0.2 cP and followed non Newtonian pseudoplastic flow similar to human saliva²⁸. The viscosity of artificial saliva decreased with increasing shear rate. The wetting time of saliva prepared from mucilage was 12.50±2.24min which is close to normal human saliva. Apart from having good physical properties, rheological properties and wetting time, B.alba mucilage containing saliva also have higher antioxidant and anti-adherent properties with no cytotoxic effect on normal human gingival fibroblasts²⁸.

· Another study was carried out on mucilage of Basella alba by Hayder et al (2012) where its rheologic property was utilised as drag reducing agent, a natural flow improver in pipelines²⁹. The mucilaginous texture of B.alba has long molecular chain within the viscous liquid. Since mucilage have the ability to expand to form aggregates, so they can be used as drag reduction agent. A transparent polyvinyl chloride closed loop fluids circulation system with a horizontal 1.5 inch pipe was used for testing drag reducing property. The rate of flow of liquid in pipe and the added concentration difference were checked to confirm the efficiency of B.alba mucilage. The kinematic viscosity was found to increase on increasing concentration of Basella Alba mucilage which was found to be 7.03mm²/s at 1000ppm. The addition of natural mucilage into flowing water pipe showed a significant drag reduction of about 78.33% at 1000ppm concentration. The results showed the potentiality of B.alba mucilage as a flow improver which reduces the frictional pressure drop along the pipeline's length over other synthetic and natural drag reducing agent^30,31.

Recent opportunities of Basella alba mucilage to act as smart carrier:

1. Naturapolyceutics:

Basella alba mucilage has a great deal of scope in the field of naturapolyceutics³². This under- utilized and less known natural mucilage have the potential to be developed to form a pharmaceutical grade natural polymer so that it can have extensive commercialization. The versatility and drug delivery properties of B.alba mucilage can be improved by carrying out modifications without hampering their biological properties. Cross linking, grafting, polymer polymer blending and forming of derivatives can be used to achieve the goal of converting B.alba mucilage into multifunctional excipient for pharmaceutical dosage form.

2. Cross linking of mucilage:

Recently, many novel hybrid materials are synthesized from the modification of natural polysaccharides. These modified polysaccharides could be applied in designing various stimuli-responsive controlled release systems. Since natural mucilage have lots of –OH group so are more prone to chemical modification. Various hydrophobic, acidic, basic functional group can be incorporated in the polysaccharide structures to modify its properties. Physical modification can be done by physical cross linking with ionic interaction, crystallization, hydrophobised polysaccharides. Exposure to microwave also causes physical modification.

Chemical modification of mucilage can be done by chemical cross linking by radical polymerization, addition reaction, condensation reaction, vinyl/ acryl graft copolymerization as well as by chemical initiating and radically initiating system³³. A study carried out by Singh and Sharma (2008), where, sterculia gum was cross linked with methacrylic acid to produce hydrogel by using an initiator, Ammonium persulfate (APS) and Crosslinker, N, N'-Methylenebisacrylamide (N, N-MBAAm) to produce hydrogels for novel drug delivery system which also showed antiulcer activity³⁴. Several cross linking of natural polymers can be done with polyacrylamide, glutaraldehyde³⁵, trisodiumtrimetaphosphate³⁶ and with epichlorohydrin³⁷.

3. Derivatives of mucilage:

It has been seen that derivatives of polymer formed improves the physicochemical properties such as hydrophilicity, solubility, swellability, drug release, targeting, response towards stimuli³⁸. Various methods for forming derivatives are cyanoethylation carboxymethylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, deacetylation, sulfation and esterification. Sen et al (2009) have developed the carboxymethyl derivatives of starch and have checked its potential in controlling the drug release³⁹.

4. Polymer polymer blending:

Different polymers taken in different ratios have been seen to enhance their physicochemical properties if taken individually. The blending may be due to physical bond or chemical bond formation. Deshmukh et al (2009) have prepared microspheres taking sodium alginate, locust bean gum and xanthan gum showing improved drug entrapment efficiencies and drug release⁴⁰.

5. Mucilages for Smart Drug Delivery:

Certain natural polymers along with their derivatives show response towards environmental factor changes such as change of pH, temperature, enzymes and electromagnetic field and thus can be considered as stimuli and environmental responsive polymers. Lorenzo et al (2013) have cross linked polysaccharides for preparing stimuli sensitive drug delivery system. These polymers influence the drug release in the affected region due to certain environmental factors or response to certain physiological events⁴¹. vIt is seen that polysaccharides obtained from animal origin such as chitosan and hyaluronic acid show response towards ions, pH, temperature, light, electrical and magnetic fields and molecules⁴¹ .Singh et al (2007) have cross linked mucilage obtained from Plantago psyllium with methacrylamide to prepare hydrogels and employed it as colon targeted drug delivery system beacause of its response towards pH⁴². It was seen in the study that at pH 7.4, the swellability and release of drug was higher. Macro and nano drug delivery techniques can be employed for development of mucilage into smart delivery techniques. Attama et al (2007) have extracted the mucilage from the seeds of plant Mucuna flagillepes and prepared crosslinked microspheres by emulsification technique to deliver glibenclamide by oral route⁴³. Hence, use of B. alba mucilage as micro and nano carrier for delivering drugs should be explored. Development of Bio MEMs (biomedical microelectromechanical systems) is also in high demand nowadays so resources required for its formation should also be explored. It uses microfabrication technology for biomedical applications. Some synthetic polymers like carboymethyl cellulose is used for developing microneedles for transdermal drug delivery, so there is an opportunity for the mucilage to be explored⁴⁴. Theranostics is another area where polymeric nanogels are evolving and receiving enormous attention. It delivers drug and imaging agent in a single dose, thus monitoring the therapeutic efficacy of the incorporated drug. Theranostic nanogel formulation of alginate and chitosan loaded with external imaging agents have been prepared for cancer cell imaging and therapy^45,46. Polymers having high biocompatibility, drug loading capacity and excellent water retention capacity is a potential candidate for fabrication of theranostic agents. Since plant mucilages possess similar functionalities can be explored for its application in theranostics.

CONCLUSION:

The review throws light on all the details of mucilage obtained from stem and leaves of Basella alba. The mucilage have shown to possess various pharmaceutical applications like binding agent, disintegrating agent, suspending agent, matrix former, release retardant, gelling agent and encapsulating agent. Thus, mucilage extracted from the stem and leaves of B.alba have potential to be used as adjuvant in pharmaceutical formulations. It has been seen that most of the research work done on natural polymers in novel drug delivery systems plays around polysaccharides, mucilages are left unexplored. Natural mucilages should be modified to get tailored products for delivering drug which can excel the already available synthetic excipients. There is wide scope to carry out research on mucilages obtained from plant source to unveil their potential as a smart novel natural polymer for development of different drug delivery systems in pharmaceutical industry.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Received on 09.12.2020 Modified on 10.04.2021

Research J. Pharm. and Tech. 2022; 15(6):2609-2615.

DOI: 10.52711/0974-360X.2022.00436