Fabrication, organoleptic evaluation and in vitro characterization of cream loaded with Carica papaya seed extract

OBJECTIVE

The current study aimed to provide preliminary insights into potential biopharmaceutical applications of Carica papaya seed extract by evaluating its phytochemical and biological profiles. Furthermore, the study aimed to develop a stable oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion for the effective delivery of antioxidant-rich biologicals for cosmetic purposes.

METHODS

The hydroethanolic (ethanol 80%: 20% water) extract of C. papaya seeds was prepared via maceration technique. The chemical composition was carried out through preliminary phytochemical screening and estimation of total phenolic contents (TPC) and total flavonoid contents (TFC). The biological profile of the extract was explored using various in-vitro antioxidant methods. The homogenization procedure was used to create a cream of O/W and various tests were applied to assess the stability of the emulsion. By keeping the emulsion at different storage conditions (8 ± 0.5°C, 25 ± 0.5°C, 40 ± 0.5°C, and 40 ± 0.5°C ± 75% relative humidity [RH]) for a period of 28 days), the physical stability parameters of the emulsion, including pH, viscosity, centrifugation, phase separation, and conductivity, as well as rheological parameters and organoleptic parameters (odor, color, liquefaction, and creaming), were assessed.

RESULTS

The preliminary phytochemical screening assay revealed the presence of various plant secondary metabolites including alkaloids, phenolics, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, and quinones. The extract was found to be rich in TPC and TFC. The in vitro antioxidant study gave maximum activity in the DPPH method. The plant extract containing cosmetic cream exhibited remarkable stability during the entire research. Data gathered indicated that no phase separation or liquefaction was seen after the experimental period. Throughout the experimental period, a small variation in the pH and conductivity values of the base and formulation was seen.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that the seed extract of C. papaya is a rich source of polyphenols with antioxidant potential and can be a promising alternative for the treatment of various ailments. The stability of emulsion paves the way for its utilization as a carrier for the delivery of 3% C. papaya seed extract and applications in cosmetics products.

Ziziphus mauritiana Leaves Normalize Hormonal Profile and Total Cholesterol in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Rats

In the present study, the beneficial effect of leaves of Ziziphus mauritiana on testosterone, estradiol, progesterone, LH hormones, blood glucose, and total cholesterol levels in the experimentally induced polycystic ovaries of female Sprague Dawley rats were evaluated. Letrozole was used to induce PCOS in rats, and clomiphene citrate was used as a standard control. This study was carried out in vivo on 30 female rats where group I received normal saline and group II to V were treated with letrozole (1 mg/kg/day), which was dissolved in normal saline orally for 21 days to induce PCOS. After PCOS induction, test groups III and IV were orally treated with ZMME at a dose of 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg for 14 days, respectively, and group V was treated with clomiphene citrate (2 mg/kg) orally for 14 days. At the end of the experimental period, the animals were sacrificed by cervical dislocation, and blood samples were collected by cardiac puncture. After blood collection, the ovaries were removed and weighed. The results showed that Ziziphus mauritiana normalized all hormones and total cholesterol levels. The HPTLC profile showed the presence of gallic acid, rutin, quercetin, and ursolic acid. Many studies have reported that quercetin is effective against PCOS and its complications; it suppresses insulin resistance and reduces testosterone and LH levels. The present study showed an improvement in the inflammatory microenvironment of the ovarian tissue in the PCOS rat model. This research concluded that the leaves of Ziziphus mauritiana have potential efficacy in the treatment of PCOS by normalizing abnormal hormones and total cholesterol levels, which could be due to the presence of quercetin in the leaves.

Development, characterization, and clinical investigation of Spinacia oleracea based ultra-high pressure homogenized emulsion system for facial physiological parameters

BACKGROUND

Spinacia oleracea (SO) exhibits radical scavenging and tyrosinase inhibition activity indicating potential as a depigmenting agent.

AIMS

To develop and characterize a stable emulsified system containing SO extract through ultra-high pressure homogenization, evaluate skin permeability, and enumerate in-vivo performance in terms of melanin index, skin spots analysis, and related skin physiological parameters.

METHOD

Free radical scavenging and tyrosinase inhibition potential of SO extract was quantified through DPPH radical scavenging and mushroom tyrosinase inhibition assay respectively. 6 SO extract loaded ultra-high pressure emulsified systems (UHSO) were developed using ultra-high pressure homogenizer and assessed for size and polydispersity index (PDI). Among the prepared formulations the optimized formulation (UHSO6) was subjected to 90 days stability studies performed at 8 ºC, 25 ºC, 40 ºC, and 40 ºC+75% RH (relative humidity) for organoleptic features, pH, and rheology. Ex-vivo skin permeability studies were performed on abdominal skin from male albino rat. Changes in skin physiological parameters were evaluated in healthy female volunteers (n=13) for 12 weeks utilizing mexameter®, corneometer® and sebumeter®. Skin spots were analyzed through computerized analysis of high-resolution images by visioFace®.

RESULTS

SO extract exhibited promising antioxidant (88±0.0096%) and tyrosinase inhibition potential (90.6±0.0015 mg of Kojic Acid Eq/g of extract). Optimized UHSO was found to be stable with respect to stability evaluation, globule size (1110 nm), zeta potential (-27.6), and PDI (0.34). Ex-vivo skin permeation of UHSO was significantly higher than SO loaded coarse emulsion. Moreover, the formulation showed a significant decrease in skin melanin, spot count, and spot % area, whereas skin hydration index was improved significantly.

CONCLUSION

Stable SO extract loaded emulsion system was successfully developed by a novel, cost-effective technique of ultra-high pressure homogenization which showed improved performance in terms of skin permeation and other skin physiological parameters.

Brightening effect of Ziziphus jujuba (jujube) fruit extract on facial skin: A randomized, double-blind, clinical study

Ziziphus jujuba Mill. (jujube) is an invaluable medicinal plant in traditional and modern medicine. Jujube syrup is a complex of herbal extracts including Z. jujuba, Berberis vulgaris, Rhus coriaria, Prunus domestica, and Rosa damascene. The purpose of the present study was to formulate and investigate the efficacy and safety of jujube syrup on brightening of facial skin. In this randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical study, 46 participants consumed jujube syrup or placebo (23 in each group) twice a day for 8 weeks. The number of pigments, area of pigmentation, and physician's global assessment score (PGAS) were evaluated at baseline and after 8 weeks. The results showed the amounts of total phenolics and flavonoids were 81.97 ± 0.25 and 4.98 ± 1.04 mg/ml, respectively. The amounts of organic acids (gallic acid and chlorogenic acid) were quantified at 1140 ± 17.65 and 1520 ± 25.77 μg/ml, respectively. The amounts of total phenolic and flavonoids were stable under accelerated conditions. Eight weeks after treatment, the number of pigment counts reduced to 0.545 ± 0.307 compared to the placebo group. Moreover, the pigmented area and its percentages were significantly reduced to 0.556 ± 0.285 and 0.561 ± 0.288 in jujube syrup compared with placebo, respectively. Jujube syrup is efficient and safe for treating hyperpigmentation of the face.

Standardization, in-silico and in-vivo safety assessment of methanol extract of Ziziphus mauritiana Lam leaves

Ziziphus mauritana Lam leaves were used to treat asthma, diabetes, pain, and inflammation in the Indian traditional system of medicine. The leaves of the Ziziphus mauritiana Lam were consumed as a vegetable in Indonesia and India. The present study aims to predict the pharmacokinetic properties of flavonoids identified & quantified through U(H)PLC and to evaluate the safety of methanol extract of Ziziphus mauritana Lam leaves (MEZ) in rats. A U(H)PLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS was performed to identify flavonoids present in MEZ and quantified using U(H)PLC method. The in-silico ADME properties of the flavonoids were analyzed using Schrodinger Maestro software. The acute oral toxicity study was performed by administering a single dose of MEZ (5000 mg/kg) in female rats and observed for 14 days. The sub-chronic studies were carried out by oral administration of MEZ at 500, 750, and 1000 mg/kg daily for 90 days. The changes in hematological parameters, clinical biochemistry, and histopathology were observed after the treatment period. Eight flavonoids rutin, kaempferol, luteolin, myricetin, catechin, and apigenin were identified from were identified in UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS analysis. These results showed the highest amount of luteolin (5.41 μg/ml) and kaempferol (4.02 μg/ml) present in MEZ. No signs of toxicity or mortality were observed in acute toxicity studies. In the sub-chronic studies, data showed that MEZ does not produce any changes in hematological and clinical biochemical parameters compared to control rats. MEZ (1000 mg/kg) significantly (p < 0.05) reduced total cholesterol, triglycerides, in male rats, which was more prominent on day 90. The histopathological analysis also revealed no changes in the vital organs. These results conclude that MEZ was considered safe and well-tolerated in rats.

Role of medicinal plants from North Western Himalayas as an efflux pump inhibitor against MDR AcrAB-TolC Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium: In vitro and In silico studies

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Zingiber officinale Roscoe has been utilized traditionally to cure various diseases like cold, cough, diarrhoea, nausea, asthma, vomiting, toothache, stomach upset, respiratory disorders, joint pain, and throat infection. It is also consumed as spices and ginger tea.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The current study was aimed to identify the phytocompounds of traditional medicinal plants of North-Western Himalaya that could inhibit the AcrAB-TolC efflux pump activity of Salmonella typhimurium and become sensitive to antibiotic killing at reduced dosage.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Medicinal plant extracts were prepared using methanol, aqueous, and ethyl acetate and tested for efflux pump inhibitory activity of Salmonella typhimurium NKS70, NKS174, and NKS773 strains using Ethidium Bromide (EtBr)-agar cartwheel assay. Synergism was assessed by the agar well diffusion method and EPI activity by berberine uptake and EtBr efflux inhibition assays. Microdilution method and checkerboard assays were done to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) respectively for a bioactive compound. To validate the phytocompound and efflux pump interaction, molecular docking with 6IE8 (RamA) and 6IE9 (RamR) targets was done using autoDock vina software. Toxicity prediction and drug-likeness were predicted by using ProTox-II and Molinspiration respectively.

RESULTS

Methanolic and ethyl acetate extracts of P. integerrima, O. sanctum, C. asiatica, M. charantia, Z. officinale, and W. somnifera in combination with ciprofloxacin and tetracycline showed synergistic antimicrobial activity with GIIs of 0.61-1.32 and GIIs 0.56-1.35 respectively. Methanolic extract of Z. officinal enhanced the antimicrobial potency of berberine (2 to 4-folds) and increased the EtBr accumulation. Furthermore, bioassay-guided fractionation leads to the identification of lariciresinol in ethyl acetate fraction, which decreased the MIC by 2-to 4-folds. The ΣFIC values varied from 0.30 to 0.55 with tetracycline, that indicated synergistic/additive effects. Lariciresinol also showed a good binding affinity with 6IE8 (-7.4 kcal mol-1) and 6IE9 (-8.2 kcal mol-1), which is comparable to tetracycline and chenodeoxycholic acid. Lariciresinol followed Lipinski's rule of five.

CONCLUSION

The data suggest that lariciresinol from Z. officinale could be a potential efflux pump inhibitor that could lead to effective killing of drug resistant Salmonella typhimurium at lower MIC. Molecular docking confirmed the antibacterial EPI mechanism of lariciresinol in Salmonella typhimurium and confirmed to be safe for future use.

Genetic diversity of Ziziphus mauritiana germplasm based on SSR markers and ploidy level estimation

A set of reliable SSR markers were developed for Ziziphus mauritiana. The genetic relationship of Z. mauritiana germplasms was generally consistent with their geographical origin, and low diversity in the maternal lineage was revealed. Ziziphus mauritiana, known as Indian jujube, is an important fruit crop that is native to southern Asia and eastern Africa. There is a variety of germplasm resources, and particularly many new cultivars were selected and introduced into wide tropical regions in recent years. However, there are few practical molecular markers for cultivar authentication and genetic analysis. In this study, we developed 55 polymorphic nuclear SSR markers based on restriction-site associated DNA sequences and transcriptome sequencing. We selected 14 robust nSSR markers for further analysis of 117 Z. mauritiana accessions from four countries (45 from China, 39 from Vietnam, 25 from Pakistan and 8 from Myanmar). In total, 137 alleles were detected and DNA fingerprints for each accession were constructed. Cluster analysis based on the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean displayed that most accessions clustered consistently with their geographic origin. In addition, there was common and high degree polyploidization based on nSSR and flow cytometry analyses. Only two of the 50 SSR loci in noncoding regions from the chloroplast genome had polymorphisms, and 5 haplotypes in total were identified among the 117 accessions. Haplotype C with 89 accessions was the most dominant haplotype and presented in four countries. This indicates low diversity in the maternal lineage of tested Z. mauritiana germplasm. Our research provides reliable marker resources for cultivar authentication and new insights into the genetic diversity, polyploidization and domestication of Z. mauritiana.