A mild method for microencapsulation of sensitive drugs, such as proteins, employing a suitably derivatized carboxymethyl guar gum (CMGG) and multivalent metal ions like Ca+ + and Ba+ + is reported. Initially, guar gum is derivatized with carboxymethyl groups so that it forms durable, self-standing microbeads when its solution is dropped into CaCl2 or BaCl2 solutions. The swelling data of Ca+ + and Ba+ + crosslinked beads suggest that Ba+ + crosslinks CMGG much more efficiently than Ca+ +. The drug loading efficiency of these Ba+ +/CMGG beads, as a function of concentration of both metal ion as well as drug, was then determined using Bovine Serum Albumin as a model drug. The ability of these beads to protect the drug from the acidic environment of the stomach was investigated. It was found that a very little amount of the drug is released from the beads when they are suspended in NaCI-HCl buffer of pH 1.2 for 6 h. The beads were also shown to release almost the entire encapsulated drug when exposed to TRIS-HCl buffer of pH 7.4. Thus, the results indicate that Ba+ + crosslinked carboxymethyl guar gum beads can be used for gastrointestinal drug delivery.