Nanoemulsion based hydrogel: A promising platform for potential anti-inflammatory action of date palm extract

Abstract

It is beyond doubt that employing natural products in medicinal application reflected to be a successful approach for managing various diseases owing to their effectiveness, affordability and least side effects. Date palm fruit (Phoenix dactylifera) is regarded the main fruit in Saudi Arabia since it possesses various biological behaviors including anti-inflammatory influence. In current study, Date palm extract (DPE) of Reziz cultivar was subjected to several phases until getting into a powder extract form. Within the scope of known investigations, this is the first time, to incorporate Date palm extract (DPE) into nanoemulsion (NE) nanocarrier prepared with olive oil to develop a novel DPE-NE. Using response surface methodology, various NEs were developed and best of them was selected based on various assigned parameters mainly; particle size and in vitro release. The optimized DPE-NE was incorporated into pre-formulated hydrogel that was characterized for various properties including pH, viscosity and spreadability. DPE-NE-based hydrogel was examined for the in vitro release of the drug over 6 hours, kinetic study, and for its stability over 3 months storage at two different conditions 4 ± 2 °C and 25 ± 3 °C. Finally, the formulation was examined for any possible skin irritation and for its anti-inflammatory action on rat hind paw induced with edema. Homogenous NE formulations were prepared, with the optimized one showed appropriate particle size (168.33 nm) and in vitro release 86.5 %. The developed DPE-NE-based hydrogel exhibited pH 6.14, viscosity 27920 cP, spreadability 51.3 mm and in vitro release 41.1 %. The formulation exhibited a non-significant difference in all evaluated parameters upon storage at two different conditions. Moreover, the formulation was safe exhibiting no skin irritation over the whole period of the study. Ultimately, the pharmacological activity of the developed DPE-NE-based hydrogel revealed potential anti-inflammatory influence.