Extraction, Physicochemical Characterisation and Applications of Psyllium Seed Gum in Developing Anti-reflux Formulations

The anti-reflux formulations have brought a dynamic advancement in the treatment of uncomplicated GORD. This treatment approach applies the maintenance of the normal physiology of gastric conditions by the formation of a physical barrier on top of the gastric contents, which has the potential to prevent oesophageal complications. Regarding this, the use of bio-resourced raft-forming agents can aid in overcoming the barriers of affordability and limited availability concerns associated with alginates. Thus, the current research project was designed as a proof of concept to explore new sustainable biopolymers that can be used for the development of anti-reflux raft formulations. Psyllium seed was selected as a natural material, and a systematic approach was adopted to develop an extraction protocol to isolate and develop a biopolymer. Moreover, an attempt was made to develop a series of anti-reflux formulations, and their performance was tested against alginate, which served as a control. The results indicated that psyllium seed gum formulations have the potential to develop raft on its contact with gastric acid and its strength with carbopol (2 % w/w) combination was 5.77 ± 0.55. In conclusion, this study has provided a new material, which has raft-forming potential, which can be used to develop anti-reflux formulations for the management of GORD.