ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the in vivo potency of lipoproteins as carriers of pharmacological agents and as possible vehicles in drug delivery. It discusses the problems concerned with the in vivo application of lipoproteins in drug delivery. The chapter reviews the possible utility of plasma lipoproteins for the site-specific delivery of diagnostic and pharmacological agents. It presents sterylglucoside-lipoprotein interactions and discusses the therapeutic possibilities of lipoproteins as carriers of pharmacological agents. The pharmacological evaluation of a drug carrier is most important in the development of a drug delivery system. Foods derived from plants contain sterylglucosides in higher concentrations. Lipoproteins in the plasma were isolated by preparative ultracentri-fugal flotation. The hemostatic effect of the sterylglucoside in mice and the inhibitory effect of the sterylglucoside on the vascular permeability in rats were observed only after the intravenous administration of complexes of the sterylglucoside with the lower density lipoproteins.
