|
M.U.Adikwu*,
S.O.Eraga
Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of
Pharmaceutical Sciences,
University of Nigeria, (NSUKKA) |
|
Since the discovery of insulin,
many attempts have been made to design a system that allows its
administration by a non-parenteral route. Insulin stability represents
one of the main problems related to the development of new delivery
systems containing this hormone. This work explores the stability of
insulin in mucin and the possibility of delivering insulin rectally
using snail mucin as the delivery agent. The stability of insulin
adsorbed on mucin powder at different temperatures was evaluated. The
mucin powder was extracted from the giant African snail Archachatina
maginata by differential precipitation with acetone. The study of the
extent of adsorption shows an increasing amount of insulin adsorbed in
the following order: 1.68%, 2.24%, 2.80%, 5.04% and 10.08% in the
corresponding mucin-insulin ratio of 150:1, 300:1, 450:1, 600:1 and
750:1. Also, the study shows that with increasing temperature, there is
a corresponding decrease in the amount of insulin adsorbed on the mucin
powder. The effect of the insulin stabilized in mucin of varying
proportions subjected to different temperature conditions on the
percentage basal blood glucose level of the experimental animals
revealed decreased stability of the insulin with increased temperature
as shown by the decreased effect on the plasma glucose level on the
experimental animals. The insulin stabilized in mucin showed an enhanced
lowering of the plasma glucose level to 49% when compared to the
non-significant blood glucose lowering effect of non-stabilized insulin
administered to the control group of rats. Consequently, mucin
incorporated with insulin can be developed as a safe method for the
rectal delivery of insulin. |
