Chapter 4 - Polysaccharides in Alternative Methods for Insulin Delivery

Abstract

Diabetes is currently a global health problem manifested by a high blood glucose level commonly classified into type 1 (insulin-dependent) and type 2 (noninsulin-dependent) diabetes. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood glucose levels by acting on target tissues such as liver, fat, and skeletal tissues, and it is usually administered by subcutaneous injection. Studies related to insulin administration by noninvasive routes are increasing in number. Ocular, vaginal, rectal, oral, pulmonary, and nasal routes are being investigated as alternative methods. However, the administration of these drugs through noninvasive routes is complicated mostly due to poor insulin absorption and/or degradation phenomena. Encapsulation into polymeric systems has been proposed to protect insulin from degradation. Among polymers, polysaccharides and grafted polysaccharides offer the advantages of being biodegradable, biocompatible, and nontoxic. In this chapter, research on alternative methods for insulin delivery is presented. We focus on insulin encapsulation efforts made through polysaccharide systems for the oral delivery of insulin, where alginate, chitosan, arabinoxylan, dextran, and some polymer conjugates have shown good performance.