Development of Propolis (Apis trigona)-loaded Nanoemulgel for Improved Skin Penetration of Caffeic Acid: The Effect of Variation of Oleic Acid Concentration

From Plants to Wound Dressing and Transdermal Delivery of Bioactive Compounds

Transdermal delivery devices and wound dressing materials are constantly improved and upgraded with the aim of enhancing their beneficial effects, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and cost effectiveness. Therefore, researchers in the field have shown an increasing interest in using natural compounds as constituents for such systems. Plants, as an important source of so-called "natural products" with an enormous variety and structural diversity that still exceeds the capacity of present-day sciences to define or even discover them, have been part of medicine since ancient times. However, their benefits are just at the beginning of being fully exploited in modern dermal and transdermal delivery systems. Thus, plant-based primary compounds, with or without biological activity, contained in gums and mucilages, traditionally used as gelling and texturing agents in the food industry, are now being explored as valuable and cost-effective natural components in the biomedical field. Their biodegradability, biocompatibility, and non-toxicity compensate for local availability and compositional variations. Also, secondary metabolites, classified based on their chemical structure, are being intensively investigated for their wide pharmacological and toxicological effects. Their impact on medicine is highlighted in detail through the most recent reported studies. Innovative isolation and purification techniques, new drug delivery devices and systems, and advanced evaluation procedures are presented.

Preparation and Characterization of Butterfly Pea (Clitoria ternatea L.) Nanoemulgel

BACKGROUND: Butterfly Pea or Asian pigeonwing (Clitoria ternatea L.) has been widely used by people. This flower species contains flavonoid and phenolic with antioxidant activities. Further, the antioxidant in flowers can be processed into nanoemulgel facial makeup. The emulgel is expected to provide better drug delivery, thus maximizing the anti-aging effects. AIM: The aim of this study was to identify the effect of the gel basis variation in the preparation and characterization of the nanoemulgel of Asian pigeonwing extract using the particle size analysis or PSA method. METHODS: In this experimental laboratory research, the independent variable comprised the variants of gelling agent bases, namely, carbopol 940, hydroxy prophyl methyl cellulose, and sodium carboxy methyl cellulose. Research tools involved magnetic stirrer, atomizer, spectrophotometer ultraviolet–visible, and particle size analyzer. The dependent variable consisted of the particle size, polydispersity index, and physical stability of nanoemulgel preparations. Instruments of the research encompassed three formula of emulgel, namely, F1 (using carbopol 940 0.2% base), F2 (using HPMC 0.2% base), and F3 (using Na CMC 0.2% base). All data were analyzed using the one-way ANOVA and Kruskal–Wallis test. The research was conducted from January to May 2021 at the Laboratory of Pharmacy Technology, Gorontalo Polytechnic of Health, the Natural Medicine Laboratory of the National Food and Drug Control Agency, and UII Laboratory Yogyakarta. RESULTS: The present work revealed that the F3 formula with Na CMC base is the best and most stable formula with the particle size measuring at 14.7 nm and polydispersity index (PDI) at 0.271. CONCLUSION: The gel base variation of the preparation produces different physical quality of Asian pigeonwing nanoemulgel with the best characteristics in the formula based on Na CMC.