Daidzein cocrystals: An opportunity to improve its biopharmaceutical parameters

A new crystalline daidzein-piperazine salt with enhanced solubility, permeability, and bioavailability

To overcome the poor solubility, permeability, and bioavailability of the plant isoflavone daidzein (DAI), a novel salt of DAI with anhydrous piperazine (PIP) was obtained based on cocrystallization strategy. The new salt DAI-PIP was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and optical microscopy. The results showed that the maximum apparent solubility (Smax) of DAI-PIP increased by 7.27-fold and 1000-fold compared to DAI in pH 6.8 buffer and water, respectively. The peak apparent permeability coefficient (P app ) of DAI-PIP in the Caco-2 cell model was 30.57 ± 1.08 × 10-6 cm/s, which was 34.08% higher than that of DAI. Additionally, compared to DAI, the maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) value of DAI-PIP in beagle dogs was approximately 4.3 times higher, and the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC0-24) was approximately 2.4 times higher. This study provides a new strategy to enhance the dissolution performance and bioavailability of flavonoid drugs, laying a foundation for expanding their clinical applications.

Unlocking the potential of flavonoid-based co-crystal and co-amorphous systems

Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds that have multiple benefits in treating various life-threatening diseases. Despite their diverse pharmacological activities, the market potential of flavonoids is hampered due to their poor solubility and low bioavailability after oral administration. The current review highlights the role of co-crystals and co-amorphous systems (CAMs) in enhancing the solubility, permeability, bioavailability, and therapeutic efficacy of flavonoids. It also explains the significance of flavonoid-based co-formers in the formation of co-crystals and CAMs with other APIs to improve their efficacy. Future perspectives, patented formulations, commercial medications (including their phases of clinical trials), and challenges associated with the use of flavonoid-based co-crystals and CAMs are also mentioned in the review.

A Novel Cocrystal of Daidzein with Piperazine to Optimize the Solubility, Permeability and Bioavailability of Daidzein

It is well known that daidzein has various significant medicinal values and health benefits, such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, cholesterol lowering, neuroprotective, cardioprotective and so on. To our disappointment, poor solubility, low permeability and inferior bioavailability seriously limit its clinical application and market development. To optimize the solubility, permeability and bioavailability of daidzein, the cocrystal of daidzein and piperazine was prepared through a scientific and reasonable design, which was thoroughly characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. Combining single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis with theoretical calculation, detailed structural information on the cocrystal was clarified and validated. In addition, a series of evaluations on the pharmacogenetic properties of the cocrystal were investigated. The results indicated that the cocrystal of daidzein and piperazine possessed the favorable stability, increased solubility, improved permeability and optimized bioavailability of daidzein. Compared with the parent drug, the formation of cocrystal, respectively, resulted in 3.9-, 3.1-, 4.9- and 60.8-fold enhancement in the solubility in four different media, 4.8-fold elevation in the permeability and 3.2-fold in the bioavailability of daidzein. Targeting the pharmaceutical defects of daidzein, the surprising elevation in the solubility, permeability and bioavailability of daidzein was realized by a clever cocrystal strategy, which not only devoted assistance to the market development and clinical application of daidzein but also paved a new path to address the drug-forming defects of insoluble drugs.

Mucin coated protein-polyphenol microcarriers for daidzein delivery

Daidzein, an isoflavone found abundantly in legumes, may benefit from bypassing upper gut absorption to reach the colon where it can be metabolized into the potent estrogen equol by the gut microbiome. To achieve this, we developed mucin coated protein-tannin multilayer microcarriers. Highly porous functionalized calcium carbonate (FCC) microparticles efficiently absorbed daidzein from a dimethyl sulfoxide solution, with a loading capacity of 21.6 ± 1.8 wt% as measured by ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). Daidzein-containing FCC microparticles were then coated with a bovine serum albumin (BSA)-tannin n-layer film terminated with mucin ((BSA-TA)n-mucin) by layer-by-layer deposition from corresponding aqueous solutions followed by FCC decomposition with HCl. Raman spectroscopy confirmed mucin-tannin complexation involving both hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonding. The resulting multilayer microcarriers contained 54 wt% of nanocrystalline daidzein as confirmed by X-ray diffraction and UPLC-MS. Preliminary screening of several types of mucin coatings using an in vitro INFOGEST digestion model demonstrated that mucin type III from porcine stomach provided the highest protection against upper intestinal digestion. (BSA-TA)8-mucin and (BSA-TA)4-mucin microcarriers retained 71 ± 16.4% and 68 ± 4.6% of daidzein, respectively, at the end of the small intestinal phase. Mucin-free (BSA-TA)8 retained a lower daidzein amount of 46%. Daidzein release and further conversion into equol were observed during in vitro colonic studies with fecal microbiota from a healthy non-equol-producing donor and Slackia equolifaciens. The developed approach has potential for encapsulating other hydrophobic nutraceuticals or therapeutics, enhancing their bioaccessibility in the colon.

Daidzein from Dietary Supplement to a Drug Candidate: An Evaluation of Potential

Daidzein (DDZ) is a well-known nutraceutical supplement belonging to the class of isoflavones. It is isolated from various sources such as alfalfa, soybean, and red clover. It demonstrates a broad array of pharmacological/beneficial properties such as cardiovascular exercise, cholesterol reduction, and anticancer, antifibrotic, and antidiabetic effects, which make it effective in treating a wide range of diseases. Its structure and operation are the same as those of human estrogens, which are important in preventing osteoporosis, cancer, and postmenopausal diseases. It is thus a promising candidate for development as a phytopharmaceutical. Addressing safety, efficacy, and physicochemical properties are the primary prerequisites. DDZ is already ingested every day in varying amounts, so there should not be a significant safety risk; however, each indication requires a different dose to be determined. Some clinical trials are already being conducted globally to confirm its safety, efficacy, and therapeutic potential. Furthermore, as a result of its therapeutic influence on health, in order to establish intellectual property, patents are utilized. In light of the vast potential of eugenol, this review presents a detailed data collection on DDZ to substantiate the claim to develop it in the therapeutic category.

Unveiling the Pharmacological and Nanotechnological Facets of Daidzein: Present State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives

Herbal drugs have been attracting much scientific interest in the last few decades and nowadays, phytoconstituents-based research is in progress to disclose their unidentified medicinal potential. Daidzein (DAI) is the natural phytoestrogen isoflavone derived primarily from leguminous plants, such as the soybean and mung bean, and its IUPAC name is 4',7-dihydroxyisoflavone. This compound has received great attention as a fascinating pharmacophore with remarkable potential for the therapeutic management of several diseases. Certain pharmacokinetic properties of DAI such as less aqueous solubility, low permeability, and poor bioavailability are major obstacles restricting the therapeutic applications. In this review, distinctive physicochemical characteristics and pharmacokinetics of DAI has been elucidated. The pharmacological applications in treatment of several disorders like oxidative stress, cancer, obesity, cardiovascular, neuroprotective, diabetes, ovariectomy, anxiety, and inflammation with their mechanism of action are explained. Furthermore, this review article comprehensively focuses to provide up-to-date information about nanotechnology-based formulations which have been investigated for DAI in preceding years which includes polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carrier, polymer-lipid nanoparticles, nanocomplexes, polymeric micelles, nanoemulsion, nanosuspension, liposomes, and self-microemulsifying drug delivery systems.

A Review of Coformer Utilization in Multicomponent Crystal Formation

Most recently discovered active pharmaceutical molecules and market-approved medicines are poorly soluble in water, resulting in limited drug bioavailability and therapeutic effectiveness. The application of coformers in a multicomponent crystal method is one possible strategy to modulate a drug's solubility. A multicomponent crystal is a solid phase formed when several molecules of different substances crystallize in a crystal lattice with a certain stoichiometric ratio. The goal of this review paper is to comprehensively describe the application of coformers in the formation of multicomponent crystals as solutions for pharmaceutically active ingredients with limited solubility. Owing to their benefits including improved physicochemical profile of pharmaceutically active ingredients, multicomponent crystal methods are predicted to become increasingly prevalent in the development of active drug ingredients in the future.

Comparative Study of Natural Antioxidants from Glycine max, Anethum graveolensand Pimpinella anisum Seed and Sprout Extracts Obtained by Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction

The study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant potential of sprout and seed extracts from three species of plants, namely Glycine max (GMsp-sprouts, GMsd-seeds), Anethum graveolens (AGsp-sprouts, AGsd-seeds) and Pimpinella anisum (PAsp-sprouts, PAsd-seeds), which are widely accepted by consumers and have various applications in food flavoring, and also in natural medical treatments in the pharmaceutical industries. These plants are rich in valuable compounds that show a remarkable antioxidant power and are associated with many health benefits. Ethanol extracts were obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction and they were comparatively evaluated for their in vitro antioxidant properties. The extracts were characterized by HPTLC, HPLC-DAD, total phenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) analysis and antioxidant activities with different assays, such as total antioxidant capacity (TAC), 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical cation decolorization assay (ABTS), 1,1-diphenyl 1-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) and iron binding ability of chelators. Our results showed that the sprout and seed extracts of the studied plants exhibited a high content of phytochemicals and promising antioxidant properties. The highest polyphenols content was detected for AGsd (53.02 ± 0.57 mg/g DW), PAsd (48.75 ± 0.34 mg/g DW) and the highest flavonoids content for PAsp (26.84 ± 0.57 mg/g DW). Moreover, the presence of valuable compounds was demonstrated by using HPTLC, FT-IR and HPLC-DAD techniques. In order to have a better understanding of the relationship between the biological properties and the electronic structure, a molecular modelling study of genistein was also conducted. Our approach to the comparative assessment of these three plant species was based on a priori knowledge from literature data; however, this study demonstrated that these plant extracts of seeds and also sprouts are excellent sources of natural antioxidants. Significant additional differences that were found in the phytochemical composition could be exploited in future research for pharmaceutical purposes.

Interactions between puerarin/daidzein and micellar casein

Puerarin (PUE) and daidzein (DAI) are polyphenols with extensive biological activities. In the present study, the interactions between PUE/DAI and micellar casein (MC) were investigated, and the physicochemical properties of their complexes were analyzed. The results of fluorescence spectrum analysis and molecular docking revealed that the main interactions between DAI and MC were hydrophobic forces, while that between PUE and MC was hydrogen bonding. The FTIR and XRD analyses confirmed the formation of complexes between MC and PUE/DAI. After binding to PUE/DAI, the size of MC increased. The weight loss rate of MC decreased after complexing with PUE/DAI, but its morphology was not extensively modified. The DPPH radical scavenging capacities of PUE-MC and DAI-MC complexes were higher than those of free PUE/DAI in both water and ethanol. In vitro release experiments showed that the release rate of PUE/DAI was inhibited by MC under simulated intestinal conditions. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The low water solubility and poor bioavailability of PUE and DAI limit their application. Micellar casein has high affinity for PUE and DAI. After encapsulated by micellar casein, the release rates of PUE and DAI were prolonged during simulated intestinal digestion. The results would provide useful information for improving the solubility and bioavailability of PUE and DAI, and broadening the use of them in the food and pharmaceutical industry.

Pulmonary Drug Delivery of Antimicrobials and Anticancer Drugs Using Solid Dispersions

It is well established that currently available inhaled drug formulations are associated with extremely low lung deposition. Currently available technologies alleviate this low deposition problem via mixing the drug with inert larger particles, such as lactose monohydrate. Those inert particles are retained in the inhalation device or impacted in the throat and swallowed, allowing the smaller drug particles to continue their journey towards the lungs. While this seems like a practical approach, in some formulations, the ratio between the carrier to drug particles can be as much as 30 to 1. This limitation becomes more critical when treating lung conditions that inherently require large doses of the drug, such as antibiotics and antivirals that treat lung infections and anticancer drugs. The focus of this review article is to review the recent advancements in carrier free technologies that are based on coamorphous solid dispersions and cocrystals that can improve flow properties, and help with delivering larger doses of the drug to the lungs.

Cocrystallization of gliclazide with improved physicochemical properties

Background

Cocrystallization is one of the crystal engineering strategies used to alter the physicochemical properties of drugs that are poorly water-soluble. Gliclazide (GLZ), an antidiabetic drug, belongs to Biopharmaceutical Classification System class-II (low solubility and high permeability) and has low bioavailability, resulting in poor therapeutic effects in patients. Therefore, to impart better solubility and bioavailability of GLZ, the study was carried out by preparing GLZ cocrystals using liquid-assisted grinding method with three coformers [3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS), 2,6-pyridine dicarboxylic acid (PDA), and L-proline (LPN)], and these were characterized using Differential Scanning Colorimetry (DSC), Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier Transform Infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectral studies. Further, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, accelerated stability, solubility, in vitro dissolution studies, and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies were performed in male Wistar rats.

Results

DSC and PXRD analysis confirmed the formation of the GLZ cocrystals. Hydrogen bonding between pure GLZ and its coformers was demonstrated based on FTIR and Raman analysis. SEM data showed morphological images for GLZ cocrystals differed from those of pure GLZ. In comparison with pure GLZ, these GLZ cocrystals have greatly improved solubility, in vitro dissolution, and in vivo profiles. Among the three, GLZ–DNS cocrystals outperformed the pure drug in terms of solubility (6.3 times), degradation (1.5 times), and relative bioavailability (1.8 times).

Conclusion

Hence, cocrystallization of GLZ leads to improved physicochemical properties of poorly soluble drug gliclazide.

LC-MS/MS analysis and pharmacokinetics of daidzein and its 7-O-glucuronide in rats after oral administration of 7-O-L-valyl carbamate prodrug

Background: A valine carbamate prodrug (7-P) was designed to enhance the low bioavailability of daidzein due to its low water solubility and membrane permeability. Here, we developed a high-throughput HPLC-MS/MS method to measure daidzein and its 7-O-glucuronide after oral administration of daidzein or 7-P. Materials & methods: A HPLC-MS/MS method was validated and successfully applied to assess the pharmacokinetic behavior of daidzein and its 7-O-glucuronide after orally administrating daidzein or 7-P. The validated method on selectivity, linearity (r ≥ 0.995), precision (relative standard deviation <11.4%), accuracy (relative error <7.1%), extraction recovery (>92.4%), matrix effect (<8.2%) and stability were satisfied. Conclusion: The proposed economical, rapid and sensitive method will be an alternative analytical procedure for daidzein and its metabolite in biological samples.

Amelioration of physicochemical, pharmaceutical, and pharmacokinetic properties of lornoxicam by cocrystallization with a novel coformer

OBJECTIVE

The present study was aimed to prepare and characterize new cocrystals of lornoxicam (LORX), a BCS class II drug employing 1,3-dimethyl urea (DMU) as a coformer to improve physicochemical, pharmaceutical, and pharmacokinetic performance.

METHODS

A screening study was conducted by employing three techniques viz. neat grinding, liquid-assisted grinding (LAG), and solvent evaporation (SE) using different drug-coformer molar ratios (1:1, 1:2, and 1:3). Samples were characterized by DSC, PXRD, ATR-FTIR, SEM, intrinsic dissolution rate (IDR) studies, compressional studies, and pharmacokinetic studies. In vitro dissolution and stability studies (25 °C/60%RH and 40 °C/75%RH for three months) were carried out for cocrystal tablets.

RESULTS

LAG and SE were found successful in ratio 1:3 and IDR showed approximately 28- and 19-fold increase, respectively in 0.1 N HCl (pH 1.2) and buffer (pH 7.4) as compared to pure LORX. The cocrystal exhibited good tabletability and was ∼2.5 times that of LORX at 6000 Psi. Dissolution profiles of tablets of cocrystal increased (56% and 100% at pH 1.2 and 7.4, respectively in contrast to those of physical mixture (PhyMix) (∼35% and ∼10%) and pure LORX (∼17% and ∼7%) within 60 min. The C_max and AUC_0-∞ for the selected cocrystal were significantly increased (p < 0.05) which was 2.4 and 2.5 times, respectively, that of LORX in a single dose oral pharmacokinetic study executed in rabbits. Tablets of cocrystal were found stable at both conditions.

CONCLUSION

The study indicates that cocrystallization with DMU can concomitantly improve tabletability, dissolution rate, and in vivo performance of dissolution limited drug LORX.