ABSTRACT
Sterculia gum, also known as Karaya gum, is an exudate by Sterculia trees. Sterculia gum is a natural acid polysaccharide and yields galactose, rhamnose, and galacturonic acid after hydrolysis. Sterculia gum use has long been in the history as a medicinal remedy. Having potential for the improvement of drugs owing to its chemical, biological, and physical properties, the Karaya gum is a valuable product and is in use mostly in the fields of pharmaceuticals, food additives, denture adhesive and adhesive for oral treatment. There has been an increasing interest for the modification of Sterculia gum for enhancing the solubility of drugs and drug carrier characteristics. Like Xanthan gum, Sterculia gum is also used as a controlling agent for drug release. Other applications for Sterculia gum are the treatment of Verruca vulguris, enhancement of sealant, oral medicament auxiliary, etc. In this chapter, pharmaceutical applications of Sterculia gum will be discussed in detail.
