Natural polymers have been utilized extensively in food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, textiles, oil drilling and paint industries. Their non-toxic and inexpensive attributes readily enhance their commercial acceptability and make them potent agents in lieu of synthetic polymers.This book explores the opportunistic utility of natural polymers in developing effective drug delivery systems and provides a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of their source, chemical structure and mechanism of action. Covering novel polymers for drug delivery—in particular extracts from plants, microorganisms and proteins, as well as water soluble and water insoluble biodegradable polymers—it presents an encyclopedic overview of natural polymers:* quintessential roles in binding drugs towards enhancing bio-availability* modification and derivatization for targeted delivery* role as active drugs is an invaluable resource for researchers, students and industrial scientists in the fields of biochemistry, chemistry, pharmacology and food science.