Preparation and Optimization of Garlic Oil/Apple Cider Vinegar Nanoemulsion Loaded with Minoxidil to Treat Alopecia

Waleed Y Rizg,Haitham A Bukhary,Walaa A Abualsunun,Raed I Felimban,Alshaimaa M Almehmady,Khaled M Hosny,Abdulmohsin J Alamoudi,Samar S Elgebaly,Hossam H Tayeb,Majed Alharbi,Rasha A Khallaf

doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics13122150

Waleed Y Rizg, Haitham A Bukhary + Show 9 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics13122150

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Abstract

Alopecia areata is a scarless, localized hair loss disorder that is typically treated with topical formulations that ultimately only further irritate the condition. Hence, the goal of this study was to develop a nanoemulsion with a base of garlic oil (GO) and apple cider vinegar (APCV) and loaded with minoxidil (MX) in order to enhance drug solubilization and permeation through skin. A distance coordinate exchange quadratic mixture design was used to optimize the proposed nanoemulsion. Span 20 and Tween 20 mixtures were used as the surfactant, and Transcutol was used as the co-surfactant. The developed formulations were characterized for their droplet size, minoxidil steady-state flux (MX Jss) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Propionibacterium acnes. The optimized MX-GO-APCV nanoemulsion had a droplet size of 110 nm, MX Jss of 3 μg/cm2 h, and MIC of 0.275 μg/mL. The optimized formulation acquired the highest ex vivo skin permeation parameters compared to MX aqueous dispersion, and varying formulations lacked one or more components of the proposed nanoemulsion. GO and APCV in the optimized formulation had a synergistic, enhancing activity on the MX permeation across the skin membrane, and the percent permeated increased from 12.7% to 41.6%. Finally, the MX-GO-APCV nanoemulsion followed the Korsmeyer–Peppas model of diffusion, and the value of the release exponent (n) obtained for the formulations was found to be 1.0124, implying that the MX permeation followed Super case II transport. These results demonstrate that the MX-GO-APCV nanoemulsion formulation could be useful in promoting MX activity in treating alopecia areata.

Highlights

Alopecia areata is an ailment identified by impermanent, nonscarring hair loss in which the hair follicles are preserved [1]
For garlic oil (GO) in apple cider vinegar (APCV) is 13.5, because it is the Required Hydrophilic Lipophilic Balance (RHLB) corresponding to the lowest droplet size
The Tween 20/Span 20 mixture in the ratio 0.39:0.61 was used for further studies in formulating the GO-APCV emulsion

Summary

Introduction

Alopecia areata is an ailment identified by impermanent, nonscarring hair loss in which the hair follicles are preserved [1]. In such a disorder, hair loss varies from welldefined spots to prevalent or total hair loss, which could influence all hairy parts of the body [2]. About 2% of the general population suffers from alopecia areata at some point in the course of their lives, which often affects their self-esteem. Speaking, variable assumptions were assigned as triggers for alopecia areata. Other reasons for alopecia areata, such as physical or emotional trauma, intoxication with thallium acetate, thyroid gland disorders, and microbial infections were identified [5]

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