Characterization and Transdermal Delivery of Ethosomes Loaded with Liquiritigenin and Liquiritin

Log P Determines Licorice Flavonoids Release Behaviors and Classification from CARBOMER Cross-Linked Hydrogel

The dynamic drug release mechanisms from Carbomer 940 (CP) hydrogels have not been systematically explored elsewhere. This study aimed to investigate the quantitative structure−activity relationship of licorice flavonoids (LFs) compounds on their drug release from CP hydrogels based on LFs-CP interactions and drug solubility in the release medium. Ten LFs-CP hydrogels were formulated, and their in vitro release study was conducted. The intermolecular forces of LFs-CP systems were characterized by FTIR, molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation. Ten LFs compounds were classified into I (high-release capability) LFs and II (low-release capability) LFs according to the different negative correlations between drug release percent at 48 h and intermolecular forces of drugs-CP, respectively. Moreover, high-release LFs possessed significantly lower log P and higher drug solubility in the release medium than low-release LFs. All I LFs release behaviors best followed the first-order equation, while II LFs release characteristics best fitted the zero-order equation except for isoliquiritigenin. Log P mainly affect the hydrogel relaxation process for I drugs release and the drug diffusion process for II drugs release. Higher log P values for LFs resulted in higher intermolecular strength for I drugs-CP systems and lower drug solubility in the release medium for II drugs, which hindered drug release. Hydrophobic association forces in drug-CP hydrogel played a more and more dominant role in hindering I LFs release with increasing release time. On the other hand, lower drug solubility in the release medium restricted II LFs release, and the dominant role of drug solubility in the release medium increased in 24 h followed by a significant decline after 36 h. Collectively, log P of LFs served as a bridge to determine LFs compound release behaviors and classification from CP hydrogels, which provided guidelines for reasonable design of LFs hydrogels in pharmaceutical topical formulations.

Recent Advances in Drug Delivery System for Bioactive Glycosides from Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been used in China for thousands of years for the prevention and treatment of various diseases. The materials that exert a therapeutic effect are called the active ingredients. The bioactive glycosides are important active ingredients from TCM that can make significant contributions to treating diseases. Because of the possibilities of various clinical applications, the properties and administration of these bioactive glycosides deserve further investigation. Their promising treatment effects, however, are hindered by their poor solubility, poor stability and rapid elimination. Therefore, it is necessary that we improve the therapeutic efficacy of bioactive glycosides by overcoming these problems. Meanwhile, some practical design strategies and novel drug delivery vehicles based on drug delivery systems provide favorable support in clinical practice for these active ingredients. This review summarizes diverse pharmacological activities of bioactive glycosides and focuses on recent advances in delivery system for these active constitutes; in particular, some glycol glycosides can effectively cure intractable diseases through targeted drug delivery. This review elucidates some design strategies for drug delivery system that are mainly based on two methods (avoiding physical barriers by changing dosage forms and enhancing the ability to bind to receptors or proteins after administration) and indicate the current challenges during the combination of delivery vehicles and these glycosides in hopes of promoting the process of receiving ideal therapeutic efficacy of them in future studies.