International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 92 (2016) 972–980 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Biological Macromolecules journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijbiomac Design and development of Albizia stipulata gum based controlled-release matrix tablets in cancer therapeutics T. Veenus Seelan a , Henry Linda Jeeva Kumari a,b , Narra Kishore a , Lalduhsanga Pachuau c,∗∗,1 , Kandasamy Ruckmani a,b,∗ a Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Centre for Excellence in Nanobio Translational Research (CENTRE), Bharathidasan Institute of Technology, Anna University, Tiruchirappalli 620024, Tamil Nadu, India b National Facility for Drug Development (NFDD) for Academia, Pharmaceutical and Allied Industries, Bharathidasan Institute of Technology, Anna University, Tiruchirappalli 620024, Tamil Nadu, India c Department of Pharmacy, Regional Institute of Paramedical and Nursing Sciences (RIPANS), Zemabawk, Aizawl 796017, Mizoram, India a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 16 June 2016 Received in revised form 2 August 2016 Accepted 3 August 2016 Available online 6 August 2016 Keywords: Albizia stipulata gum Paracetamol Controlled drug release Matrix tablet Anticancer a b s t r a c t The present study deals with the development of natural macromolecule gum Albizia stipulata (AS) based novel pharmaceutical excipient for the controlled-release of paracetamol (PC). Central compos- ite design (CCD) two-factor, five-level was used for the optimization of independent variables AS gum and compression force (CF) based on desired response variable drug release (DR) of paracetamol matrix tablets (PCMT). The optimized PCMT was prepared by wet granulation method and screened for pre- and post- compression parameters, and were characterized. The optimized PCMT (F 14 ) formulation showed favorable in vitro release of PC (65%) in 12 h, and the release kinetics followed zero order anomalous diffusion mechanism. AS gum exerted significant (p < 0.001) anticancer activity with 98.25% inhibition at 2000 g/mL (IC 50 = 179.12 g/mL) against A549 cell line. PC and PCMT showed 78.56% inhibition (IC 50 value = 856.58 g/mL) and 93.68% inhibition (IC 50 value = 396.35 g/mL) respectively, symbolizing that the gum remarkably potentiated the anticancer effect of PC in formulation after 24 h treatment by induc- ing apoptosis. This is the first report on A. stipulata gum as a promising biopolymer for drug delivery application in cancer therapeutics. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Natural gums are used in pharmaceuticals for their diverse applications as tablet binder [1], emulsifying agent [2], suspending agent [3], disintegrating agent [4], hydrogels [5,6] controlled- release beads [7,8] and controlled-release matrix formulations [9]. Matrix tablets are commonly used controlled-release dosage forms that are prepared by homogenized blending of polymer, drug and excipients followed by either direct compression or wet granula- tion methods [10]. Over the past decade, a number of studies have ∗ Corresponding author at: Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Centre for Excellence in Nanobio Translational Research (CENTRE), Bharathidasan Institute of Technology, Anna University, Tiruchirappalli 620024, Tamil Nadu, India. ∗∗ Corresponding author at: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Assam Uni- versity, Silchar 788011, Assam, India. E-mail addresses: aduhapc@gmail.com (P. Lalduhsanga), hodpharma@gmail.com (R. Kandasamy). 1 Present address: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Assam University, Silchar 788011, Assam, India. been performed employing the usage of natural gums such as guar gum [11], Albizia procera gum [12], Aloe barbadensis mucilage [13], grewia gum [14], and khaya gum [15] as release modifiers in matrix tablet formulations. Gum Albizia stipulata (AS) is a naturally occurring polysaccha- ride belonging to the family of Leguminosae [16]. The genus Albizia consists of approximately 150 species and most of them are decid- uous woody trees and shrubs. Albizia trees are known to produce gums and have been reported as substitutes for arabic gum as nat- ural emulsifiers in food and pharmaceutical industries like Albizia lebbeck gums [17]. Albizia procera gum has been reported as an excipient for oral controlled-release matrix tablet [12], Albizia zygia gum has been incorporated as a binding agent [18] in tablet formu- lations and also in the formulation of pharmaceutical suspensions [19]. The wide distribution of different Albizia species throughout the world could potentially lead Albizia gums as renewable and cheaper industrial gums [20]. The biological properties of polysaccharides have attracted sub- stantial attention in medicine due to their tremendous structural diversities. They are effective and non-toxic with wide pharma- http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2016.08.006 0141-8130/© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.