Posted by Chronomodulated diseases demonstrate circadian fluctuations. Conventional dosage forms are inadequate for mitigating these ailments; instead, time-scheduled drug release is necessary for pharmacological efficacy. Chronotherapy, which aligns drug delivery with the body’s biological rhythms, is an emerging strategy that ameliorates drug efficacy while minimizing side effects. Chronomodulated drug delivery systems (CDDS) have gained eminence as they enable precise, time-controlled drug release synchronized with the body’s circadian rhythm and the pathophysiology of specific ailments. Pulsatile Drug Delivery System (PDDS), which releases drugs in a burst after a predefined lag phase, rather than continuously. This release profile is particularly beneficial for ailments with predictable circadian variation (linked to the body’s 24-h biological cycle), such as bronchial asthma, hypertension, and Rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Over the past few decades, PDDS has emerged as a novel and effective approach for ameliorating therapeutic efficacy and patient compliance by delivering drugs when they are most needed.
The current investigation aims to develop natural, carbohydrate polymer-based novel plug-in capsule, pulsatile drug delivery system with engineered specificity of meloxicam with low aqueous solubility. β-CD is employed to boost solubility by forming solid ternary inclusion complexes where natural polymers, viz., pectin and agar, act as ternary agents. Thus, study, aimed at developing chronotherapeutic pulsincap system of meloxicam by virtue of pre-treatment of poorly soluble meloxicam by natural polymer viz., psyllium husk and achieving time-specific, pulsatile release of the pretreated drug using psyllium husk-based plug-in capsule strategy.
Psyllium husk, a natural carbohydrate polymer rich in arabinoxylans, was selected owing to its excellent swelling, gel-forming, and bioadhesive properties for this study (Fig. 1). Arabinoxylan, a complex heteropolysaccharide belonging to the hemicelluloses family, is the main component of psyllium. The β-(1 → 4)-linked d-xylopyranose units make up the main chain, often known as the backbone. This results in a linear xylan structure that resembles cellulose, but the xylose sugars are joined by β-1,4 glycosidic linkages. α- l-arabinofuranose (Araf), the most prevalent side group, β-d-galactopyranose, α-l-rhamnopyranose, and d-galacturonic acid (particularly in acidic fractions) replace certain xylose residues in the backbone at the O-2 and/or O-3 positions.
Fig. 1. Structure of arabinoxylan, the main component of psyllium.
Rajesh S. Jagtap, Sneha R. Jagtap, Sandeep D. Chavan, Vikram R. Shinde, Sanjeevani R. Desai, Sandhyarani R. Sagavkar, Atul S. Alkunte 2025) Psyllium husk, carbohydrate polymer based novel plug-in capsule device for pulsatile release from meloxicam-β-cyclodextrin-pectin ternary complex. Carbohydrate Research 556, 109614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carres.2025.109614