Potential use of transethosomes as a transdermal delivery system for metabolites from Chenopodium murale

Abstract

Medicinal plant extracts such as Chenopodium murale are of great therapeutic interest for the skin. However, their transdermal administration represents a great challenge due to the complexity of their metabolites, low solubility, and inadequate molecular size. In this research, we propose transethosomes as a potential transdermal delivery system for an extract of Chenopodium murale. We evaluated size, deformability, entrapment efficiency, and content of bioactive compounds (UPLC) in ethosomes and transethosomes formulated with different ratios of phosphatidylcholine, cholesterol, and Tween 80. In the vesicle with the best properties, we evaluated morphology (SEM), identity, macrostructural chemistry (FT-IR), and skin permeability (Franz-type diffusion cell). The transethosomes TCM, were the best in terms of spherical morphology, average size (522 nm), Z potential (45.10 ± 021 mv), entrapment efficiency (63.35 ± 0.58%), and low deformability. TCM preserved the macrostructural identity of the extract, allowing a greater permeation in the skin (Jss = 1.047 ± 0.031 μg/cm2/h) and a release percentage of 73.277% ± 2.784%. These data demonstrate that transethosomes are a potential transdermal delivery system for a Chenopodium murale extract with possible therapeutic applications.