Tragacanth

Generic name: Astragalus Gummifer Labill.
Brand names: Goat's Thorn, Green Dragon, Gum Dragon, Gum Tragacanth, Gummi Tragacanthae, Hog Gum, Milkvetch, Syrian Tragacanth, Tragacanth

Usage of Tragacanth

Analgesic effects

Animal data

Data from a mouse study suggest that tragacanth may have analgesic effects via the blockade of alpha-2 adrenergic receptors.Bagheri 2015

Antimicrobial activity

Tragacanth gum does not possess antimicrobial properties and requires functionalization or modification to introduce microbicidal activity. Silver nanoparticles and quaternary ammonium compounds, which possess permanent positive charges, are commonly used as antimicrobial agents to inhibit bacterial growth in various applications. Tragacanth gum has been modified by quaternary ammonium salts to incorporate antibacterial activity, and after functionalization, the modified tragacanth gum was copolymerized with acrylamide or acrylic acid using ceric ammonium as initiator; these hydrogels demonstrated good activity against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria.Nazarzadeh Zare 2019

Binder properties

Tragacanth gum has been used as a binder in the creation of scaffolds for bone regrowth.Lett 2019

Cancer

Animal and in vitro data

Tragacanth has been reported to inhibit the growth of cancer cells in vitro and in animal studies.Khan 2010, Morton 1977

Diabetes

Clinical data

As with other water-soluble gums, some preliminary evidence suggests that concomitant ingestion of tragacanth with a high sugar load can moderate glucose levels in patients with diabetes.Eastwood 1984 However, this effect has not been consistently demonstrated and more detailed investigations are needed.Eastwood 1986

Dietary fiber

Although gum tragacanth swells to increase stool weight and decrease GI transit time, it differs from other soluble fibers in that it appears to have no effect on serum cholesterol, triglyceride, or phospholipid levels after a 21-day supplementation period.Eastwood 1986

Wound healing

Animal data

In a study evaluating wound healing in rabbits, creams were prepared from tragacanth gum (6 and 9 wt%) using a mixture of water and glycerin (4:1 wt%) as the vehicle. The wound healing profile of the group treated with the tragacanth gum–containing cream was better than in the untreated control. The best healing effect was observed with the cream containing 6% tragacanth gum.Nazarzadeh Zare 2019

Clinical data

A triple-blind, randomized, clinical trial evaluated the effects of tragacanth gel pad (n=47) or tragacanth foam (n=47) on the prevention of pressure ulcers in trauma patients admitted to intensive care units (N=94). Data showed differences in terms of the delay of skin redness, with onset of erythema occurring at 6.84 (1.58) and 5.67 (1.26) days after admission in the tragacanth gel cushion group and foam cushion group, respectively. In addition, in the tragacanth gel cushion group, 14 patients (29.7%) did not have skin redness compared with the foam cushion group (8.51%). The study showed that use of tragacanth gel cushion is effective in the prevention of pressure ulcers in intensive care unit patients.Shakibamehr 2019

Tragacanth side effects

Tragacanth has GRAS status in the United States for use in food.Anderson 1989 In a small study, no adverse effects were associated with dietary gum tragacanth supplementation in healthy men for up to 21 days.Eastwood 1984

Before taking Tragacanth

Avoid use. Information regarding safety and efficacy in pregnancy and lactation is lacking.

How to use Tragacanth

Recent clinical evidence does not support a specific dosage of tragacanth. The gum has GRAS status as a food additive.

Warnings

Some studies report no toxic effects for tragacanth when used in concentrations of up to 0.5% (or 10 g/day) in mice.Khan 2010, Thackaberry 2013 Tragacanth gum is notably nontoxic when taken orally because polysaccharides generally are not absorbed from the GI system and do not enter circulation when ingested.Pistelli 2002, Smee 1995

Tragacanth is highly susceptible to bacterial degradation, and preparations contaminated with enterobacteria have caused fetal death when administered intraperitoneally to pregnant mice.Khan 2010

What other drugs will affect Tragacanth

None well documented. Theoretically, tragacanth could slow absorption of other drugs; therefore, separating the administration of tragacanth from doses of other drugs by at least 2 hours is recommended.

Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Drugslib.com is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Drugslib.com information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Drugslib.com does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Drugslib.com's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Drugslib.com's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners.

The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Drugslib.com does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Drugslib.com provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

Popular Keywords