Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic autoimmune sickness that affects majorly gastrointestinal tract. Currently available treatment regimes have various adverse effects and put financial burden.
This paper presents the development of an oral liquid formulation containing nanoemulsion of herbal extracts for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.
Nanoemulsion Based Formulation was prepared and characterized. Stability studies based on the physical appearance, viscosity, pH, total microbial count, and assay were performed. Antioxidant activity of individual extract, mixture and formulation was compared by DPPH method. In order to assess both efficacy and safety of formulation, TNBS-induced colitis model was used.
The herbal extract of fennel, anise, chamomile, linseed, pomegranate fruit peel incorporated in nanoemulsion was used as oil phase, PEG as a surfactant, Tween 80 as co-surfactant, and benzalkonium chloride (0.001%) as a preservative in the nanoemulsion. Average Particle size, PDI, viscosity, and pH were 283 nm, 0.33, 48 cps, and 5.9, respectively. Assay of the product by standard marker Anethole was 99.6%. It was established that the formulation remains stable at least for six months. Antioxidant activity of the combined extract was higher than the individual extracts. The colon mucosa damage index from the formulation was negligible and similar to that of the control group.
The combined results suggest that the developed nanoemulsion of herbal extracts is worthwhile in treating inflammatory bowel disease. Also, the benefits of selecting multi-herb extract for nanoemulsion formulation are proved by the antioxidant activity of the combination.
This study reveled that the nanoemulsion of the herbal extract is a promising approach for inflammatory bowel disease treatment. Patent related to the work is published in Indian Official Journal of the Patent Office (14/2021).