The naturally occurring polysaccharides are currently getting prime importance in pharmaceutical dosage forms because of their easy availability, non-toxic, eco-friendly and biodegradable nature. The Guar gum, which is obtained from Cyamopsis tetragonolobus Linn. (Family: Leguminosae) is rich in gallactomannan having unique gelling or thickening properties. The presence of multiple hydroxyl groups in gallactomannan has proved to be excellent for derivatization by grafting or cross-linking with other polymers to create new chemically modified entity of desired properties. The native as well as guar gum derivatives are found to have therapeutic importance in crohn''s disease, colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, hypercholesterolemia and colorectal cancer. Guar gum is used as suspending, emulsifying, binding, disintegrating and stabilizing agent in the conventional pharmaceutical dosage forms. The swelling property of guar gum has made it suitable for controlling the drug release rate in the novel pharmaceutical dosage forms. By virtue of its better thickening and stabilizing power accompanied by a sound safety profile, guar gum has acquired a wide acceptance in cosmetics and food industry. The present review discusses the excipient profile of guar gum, its present status and application based on available literatures.
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