CRITICAL REVIEW IN PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES ISSN 2319-1082 Volume 1 Issue 2 : 2012 www.earthjournals.org 15 Review Article ROLE OF ROSIN IN CONTROLLED AND TARGETED DRUG DELIVERY Vivek P. Chavda 1 *, Moinuddin M. Soniwala 1 , Jayant R. Chavda 1 1 Department of Pharmaceutics, B. K. Mody Government Pharmacy College, Rajkot-360003, Gujarat (India) ABSTRACT Sexual dysfunction (SD) or male impotence is defined as the inability to have or sustain an erection long The employment of natural polymers in sustained and controlled drug delivery systems continues to be a field of research. Rosin is on such polymer which is a clear or semi-transparent thermoplastic solid. It occurs naturally in oleoresins of pine tree (Pinus soxburghi and Pinus toeda, family Pinaceae). Rosin and its derivatives have been pharmaceutically evaluated as microencapsulating materials, film forming agent and as binding agent in formulation of tablets. They are also employed in formulation of chewing gum bases and cosmetics. Reader can get surely the glimpses of its pharmaceutical versatility. This article focuses a general idea regarding rosin and its polymer derivatives. Key words: Rosin, Gum rosin, Controlled drug delivery, Pinus palustris, Biodegradable, Natural polymer INTRODUCTION Polymers are long chain like molecules with repetitive structural units. Since last two decades application of polymers in Pharma field has increased immensely so as to achieve controlled release characteristics. The term terpene refers to one of the largest families of naturally occurring compounds bearing enormous structural diversity, which are secondary metabolites synthesized mainly by plants, but also by a limited number of insects, marine microorganisms and fungi.[1] Rosin also known by the name of colophony, is the designation traditionally given to the nonvolatile residue obtained after the distillation of volatiles from the resin exuded by many conifer trees, mostly pine. Natural polymer Rosin Rosin (also known as colophony) is a solid resinous material obtained from the oleoresin (tree sap) of live pine trees (called gum rosin), the stump wood of dead pine trees by solvent extraction (called wood rosin), and in the pulp paper recovery process (called tall oil rosin). The rosin is used directly in the manufacturing of adhesives, inks, rubber compounds, paints & coatings, etc., or modified as resins to give more specific characteristics to the rosin to improve or change their stability, aging, color, tackiness. Rosin is a solid resinous mass obtained naturally from pine trees. Principally it contains resin acids (abietic and pimaric) and Rosin is a low