Characterization of novel alginate-Aloe Vera raft systems for treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease

Raft-forming systems are designed to relieve reflux symptoms by forming a physical barrier on top of the stomach. The present study aimed to evaluate the physico-chemical properties of alginate-aloe vera raft-forming systems for the first time. To achieve this goal, aloe vera was used in the proportion of 1 and 1.5 % in raft suspensions containing 5 % alginate as the main component of gel structure. Rafts were characterized by their volume, floating behavior, thickness, swelling properties, strength, resilience, reflux resistance, and acid neutralization capacity (ANC). Results showed the effectiveness of aloe vera in forming rafts that were voluminous, buoyant with greater total floating time (TFT), and stronger than formulations with no aloe vera. Furthermore, data showed that the presence of aloe vera could improve resilience time, swelling proportions, resistance to reflux under simulant conditions of movement in the stomach, and ANC values of rafts. Rafts were further characterized by oscillatory strain sweep test, differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Evaluation of the mechanical properties of rafts displayed a viscoelastic behavior of gels corresponding to the internal cross-linked structure of rafts. This study demonstrated that designing of alginatealoe vera rafts can be suitable for the treatment of gastro-esophageal reflux disorders.