Biological activity and photostability of biflorin micellar nanostructures.

Edson Santana,Adriana Fontes,Kêsia Sena,Ricardo Yara,João Ferreira-Neto,Cláudia Lima

doi:10.3390/molecules20058595

Edson Santana, Adriana Fontes + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules20058595

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Abstract

Capraria biflora L. is a shrub from the Scrophulariaceae family which produces in its roots a compound named biflorin, an o-naphthoquinone that shows activity against Gram-positive bacteria and fungi and also presents antitumor and antimetastatic activities. However, biflorin is hydrophobic and photosensitive. These properties make its application difficult. In this work we prepared biflorin micellar nanostructures looking for a more effective vehiculation and better preservation of the biological activity. Biflorin was obtained, purified and characterized by UV-Vis, infrared (IR) and 1H- and 13C-NMR. Micellar nanostructures of biflorin were then assembled with Tween 80®, Tween 20® and saline (0.9%) and characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The results showed that the micellar nanostructures were stable and presented an average size of 8.3 nm. Biflorin micellar nanostructures’ photodegradation was evaluated in comparison with biflorin in ethanol. Results showed that the biflorin in micellar nanostructures was better protected from light than biflorin dissolved in ethanol, and also indicated that biflorin in micelles were efficient against Gram-positive bacteria and yeast species. In conclusion, the results showed that the micellar nanostructures could ensure the maintenance of the biological activity of biflorin, conferring photoprotection. Moreover, biflorin vehiculation in aqueous media was improved, favoring its applicability in biological systems.

Highlights

Capraria biflora L. is a perennial shrub native to the Antilles and South America that belongs to Schrophulariaceae family [1,2,3]
The band around 340 nm was present, but it was more accentuated for the biflorin micellar nanostructures due to the typical surfactant absorption bands in the UV region
The characterization of biflorin micellar nanostructures showed that this formulation was stable for at least one month, when stored under appropriate temperature conditions

Summary

Introduction

Capraria biflora L. is a perennial shrub native to the Antilles and South America that belongs to Schrophulariaceae family [1,2,3]. This species has been employed in a variety of reported folk medicine applications as a diuretic, stimulant, gastrointestinal agent, and analgesic, among other phytotherapeutical uses [4,5,6]. Some authors have reported that biflorin can present immunoadjuvant properties [10] and antimetastatic activity, for melanoma cells [11]. Studies of biflorin cytotoxicity showed that this molecule did not cause any damage to V79 cells (hamster lung fibroblasts) and did not present any negative interference with the development of sea urchin eggs [3,12]

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