Potential aspects of chitosan as pharmaceutical excipient.

Interest in use of the polysaccharide chitosan as a pharmaceutical excipient by different dose routes and for a number of applications is not new but it still does not appear to be present in any marketed drugs. Also a novel excipient in a new formulation requires a lot of safety consideration. Published literature showed that chitosan has low oral toxicity and prior human exposure has occurred through use in dietary supplements and food additive, medical device and cosmetic applications. Although systemic exposure to chitosan may be limited, this needs a more careful assessment of its safety as a parenteral excipient. Chitosan has local biological activity in the form of hemostatic action, facilitates platelet adhesion, cholesterol lowering and weight management. Chitosan has become an upcoming research area as a novel excipient in controlled drug delivery, which necessitates us to get an overall information about it.