ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF EXOPOLYSACCHARIDES FROM LACTIC ACID BACTERIA AND ITS USE IN FORMULATION DEVELOPMENT

Exopolysaccharides (EPS) are polymers that consist principally of carbohydrates and are excreted by some microorganisms onto the outside of their cell walls. Several strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are able to produce EPS which can be used as natural additives to enhance the rheology and texture of novel food products. they are considered as food-grade microorganisms known as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). Various milk and curd samples were screened for the isolation of lactobacilli. The colonies were subcultured in milk media (50%) maintained at 20º C for 72 hours under anaerobic conditions for the production of EPS. EPS was then isolated after ethanol precipitation. Two promising EPS were obtained from two different milk samples and named as EPS 1 and EPS 5. The two EPS were isolated showing promising results. The isolated EPS were evaluated as an excipient in the formulation development and were explored as binder in tablets. The tablets were evaluated for hardness, friability, weight uniformity, disintegration and invitro dissolution profiles. The binding property of the two EPS was investigated in diclofenac tablets formulated by wet granulation using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and gelatin. Results indicated that formulation prepared with EPS have shown good hardness and friability in tablet formulations when compared to PVP and gelatin.