Pullulan is an exopolysaccharide polymer, a complex sugar produced by the dark-coloured, ubiquitous fungus Aureobasidium pullulan, which grows on vegetables and plants. 

It appears as a white or yellowish powder that is soluble in water.

It is a very expensive polymer.

A cosa serve e dove si usa

Food

Ingredient listed in the European food additives list as E1204 as a coating agent.

It has low caloric content, can be used as a binder with low viscosity and a pH between 2 and 11.

Safety

Pullulan was recognised as safe by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2002 for use in food applications and has GRAS status (generally considered safe).

Cosmetics

Binder agent. It is used in cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical products as an anti-caking agent with the function of making the product in which it is incorporated silky, compact and homogenous. The binder, either natural such as mucilage, gums and starches or chemical, may be in the form of a powder or liquid.

Film-forming agent. It produces a continuous ultra-thin film with an optimal balance of cohesion, adhesion and stickiness on the skin or hair to counteract or limit damage from external phenomena such as chemicals, UV rays and pollution.

The most relevant studies on this ingredient have been selected with a summary of their contents:

Pullulan studies

• Molecular Formula: C₂₀H₃₆O₁₆
• Molecular Weight: 532.49024
• CAS: 9057-02-7
• UNII   8ZQ0AYU1TT
• EC Number: 232-945-1

Tioconazole-loaded nanocapsule suspensions and its coating with a cationic polymer were developed for nail drug delivery. The colloidal systems presented a nanometric size around 155nm for uncoated nanoparticles and 162nm for those with the cationic coating, with negative and positive zeta potential values, respectively. Both nanosuspensions showed drug content close to theoretical values (1mgmL-1), association efficiency close to 100% (HPLC) and were able to control tioconazol release. The developed formulations showed in vitro antifungal activity (agar diffusion method) against C. albicans. The cationic nanocapsules were considered bioadhesive, showed higher viscosity and were chosen to be incorporated into an ungueal formulation. Pullulan nanobased nail formulation showed adequate viscosity for nail application and drug content close to the theoretical values. It was equivalent to the commercial formulation Trosid® in preventing nail infection by T. rubrum in an in vitro onychomycosis model. The nanocapsule suspensions and Pullulan nanobased nail formulation showed lower irritant potential than the commercial formulation and than free drug in an in vitro evaluation. Pullulan nanobased nail formulation is promising for the treatment of onychomycosis (1).

This review highlights the latest developments on the applications of pullulan and its derivatives in tissue engineering (2).

References_________________________________

(1) An innovative polysaccharide nanobased nail formulation for improvement of onychomycosis treatment.
Flores FC, Rosso RS, Cruz L, Beck RC, Silva CB.
Eur J Pharm Sci. 2017 Jan 5;100:56-63. doi: 10.1016/j.ejps.2016.12.043  

(2) Recent insights on applications of pullulan in tissue engineering.
Singh RS, Kaur N, Rana V, Kennedy JF.
Carbohydr Polym. 2016 Nov 20;153:455-62. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.07.118