an online international journal allowing free unlimited access to abstract and full-text of published articles. The journal is devoted to the promotion of health sciences and related disciplines (including medicine, pharmacy, nursing, biotechnology, cell and molecular biology, and related engineering fields). It seeks particularly (but not exclusively) to encourage multidisciplinary research and collaboration among scientists, the industry and the healthcare professionals. It will also provide an international forum for the communication and evaluation of data, methods and findings in health sciences and related disciplines. The journal welcomes original research papers, reviews and case reports on current topics of special interest and relevance. All manuscripts will be subject to rapid peer review. Those of high quality (not previously published and not under consideration for publication) will be published without delay. The maximum length of manuscripts should normally be 10,000 words (20 single-spaced typewritten pages) for review, 6,000 words for research articles, 3,000 for technical notes, case reports, commentaries and short communications. Submission of Manuscript:The International Journal of Health Research uses a journal management software to allow authors track the changes to their submission. All manuscripts must be in MS Word and in English and should be submitted online at http://www.ijhr.org. Authors who do not want to submit online or cannot submit online should send their manuscript by e-mail attachment (in single file) to the editorial office below. Submission of a manuscript is an indication that the content has not been published or under consideration for publication elsewhere. Authors may submit the names of expert reviewers or those they do not want to review their papers. Abstract PURPOSE: Gastroretentive systems can significantly prolong the gastric residence time of drugs. If a drug is stable in gastric acid, prolonged gastric retention improves bioavailability. The objective of the present investigation was to develop an extended and controlled release composition and formulation of propranolol using expandable, gelling, swellable hydrocolloid polymer along with mineral oil. METHODS: A formulation was prepared without using mineral oil by conventional ionotropic gelation method. All other formulations of oil entrapped floating gel beads of propranolol hydrochloride were prepared by using emulsion gelation method in which sodium alginate was used as a gelling agent and mineral oil was used to impart buoyancy to the formulation Spherical gel beads were formed instantaneously. The prepared beads were evaluated for diameter, surface morphology, encapsulation efficiency and drug release. RESULTS: Low concentration of oil containing formulation exhibited greater release of drug. As the concentration of oil increases, drug release decreases to certain extent. Percentage buoyancy of floating propranolol hydrochloride gel beads was found satisfactory. The highest mean diameter was observed i...