• M Sunitha Reddy
• T N Purnima

The oral route is the most popular route of administration for numerous drugs because it is considered as the safest, most preferred and less economical. Active ingredients and excipients are the two main ingredients of any pharmaceutical formulation. Excipients help in the manufacturing of dosage form as well as improve physicochemical parameters of the dosage form. Polymers play a vital role in any dosage form as excipients. Polymers are utilized in drug delivery to provide weight, consistency and besides, they are multi-functional providing stability, drug release, targeting, enhanced bioavailability, and patient acceptability. A polymer is a large molecule (macromolecules) composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds. They are broadly classified into three categories viz. natural polymers, semi-synthetic and synthetic polymers. Natural polymers are more advantageous than synthetic polymers as they are economical, non-toxic and abundantly available in nature. Natural polymers can be used to formulate dosage forms where the drug is designed to release a pre-determined rate. They can be widely used in pharmaceutical dosage forms as binders, matrix formers or drug release modifiers, film coating formers, thickeners or viscosity enhancers, stabilizers, disintegrants, solubilizers, emulsifiers, suspending agents, gelling agents, and bioadhesives.

Natural polymers, oral dosage form, excipients, cost-effective.

"Use Of Natural Polymers Over Synthetic Polymers In Tablet Formulations: A Review", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no.38-48, June 2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1908621.pdf

"Use Of Natural Polymers Over Synthetic Polymers In Tablet Formulations: A Review", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no. pp38-48, June 2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1908621.pdf