Study of shellac glycerol esters as microencapsulating materials

Shellac esters were prepared by heating shellac with glycerol and intermediate reaction products were withdrawn. Salicyclic acid granules were encapsulated using a 20 per cent w/v alcoholic solution of shellac and shellac esters. The coated microcapsules were evaluated for moisture absorption, flow properties, and dissolution studies. The drug release from coated granules was seen to depend upon the acid value of the esters. Results indicate that shellac esters could be better encapsulating material than shellac in sustained release formulation.