Polysaccharides historical background

The use of various polysaccharides for pharmaceutical purposes has a long historical background and increased considerably during the last decades. This is not only the case for polysaccharides used as excipients, which are essential for specific formulations and constitute the most widely used form of polysaccharides, but also for a series of carbohydrate polymers which have proven to be most useful as direct drugs. 

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