Preparation of Mangosteen Peel Extract Microcapsules by Fluidized Bed Spray-Drying for Tableting: Improving the Solubility and Antioxidant Stability

Mangosteen fruit has been widely consumed and used as a source of antioxidants, either in the form of fresh fruit or processed products. However, mangosteen peel only becomes industrial waste due to its bitter taste, low content solubility, and poor stability. Therefore, this study aimed to design mangosteen peel extract microcapsules (MPEMs) and tablets to overcome the challenges. The fluidized bed spray-drying method was used to develop MPEM, with hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) as the core mixture and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the coating agent. The obtained MPEM was spherical with a hollow surface and had a size of 411.2 µm. The flow rate and compressibility of MPEM increased significantly after granulation. A formula containing 5% w/w polyvinyl pyrrolidone K30 (PVP K30) as a binder had the best tablet characteristics, with a hardness of 87.8 ± 1.398 N, friability of 0.94%, and disintegration time of 25.75 ± 0.676 min. Microencapsulation of mangosteen peel extract maintains the stability of its compound (total phenolic and α-mangosteen) and its antioxidant activity (IC50) during the manufacturing process and a month of storage at IVB zone conditions. According to the findings, the microencapsulation is an effective technique for improving the solubility and antioxidant stability of mangosteen peel extract during manufacture and storage.

Phytosome drug delivery system for natural cosmeceutical compounds: Whitening agent and skin antioxidant agent

Plants have been used as traditional medicine since ancient times for treating the diseases, metabolite active compounds from plants have excellent bioactivity, and pharmacological properties from plants are used as skin whitening agent and antioxidant in multiple mechanisms of action. However, these compounds have physicochemical limitations in terms of its poor solubility and penetration into the cells membrane. Phytosome drug delivery system can be the primary choice to improve the physicochemical properties, which allows increasing the effectiveness. This review aimed to summarize and discuss the phytosome formulations of potential active compounds as skin whitening agent and skin antioxidant, which obtained from Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases. We assessed that the main purpose of these phytosome formulations was to improve penetration, stability, and solubility of the active compounds. These studies proved that phytosome formulations can improve the physicochemical characteristics and effectiveness of compounds. The phytosome drug delivery system becomes a promising modification technique for natural compounds due to the ability to improve the physicochemical properties and increase the effectiveness. Phytosome formulation could be the excellent approach for cosmeceutical product with good effectivity in the future.

Apoptosis-mediated antiproliferation of A549 lung cancer cells mediated by Eugenia aquea leaf compound 2',4'-dihydroxy-6'-methoxy-3',5'-dimethylchalcone and its molecular interaction with caspase receptor in molecular docking simulation

In a previous study, 2',4'-dihydroxy-6'-methoxy-3',5'-dimethylchalcone (ChalcEA) isolated from the leaves of Eugenia aquea was reported to inhibit proliferation of the breast adenocarcinoma MCF7 cell line and to promote apoptosis via activation of poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase protein. The present study aimed to evaluate the inhibitory effect of ChalcEA on the proliferation of A549 lung cancer cells using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxylmethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium assay, and to examine the ability of ChalcEA to induce apoptosis through activation of the caspase cascade signaling pathway in a western blotting assay. The results revealed that ChalcEA inhibited proliferation of the A549 lung cancer cell lines in a time- and dose-dependent manner with IC₅₀ values of 25.36 and 19.60 µM for 24 and 48 h treatments, respectively. Western blot analysis indicated that ChalcEA exerted its anti-proliferative effects by promoting apoptosis via the activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3. Based on in silico results, ChalcEA with the binding energy of -6.53 kcal/mol could compete better than 4-methyl benzenesulfonamide (-6.43 kcal/mol) as an inhibitor of caspase-3 (PDB: 2XYG). ChalcEA has potential since it has three hydrophobic features. These results provided a basis for further study of ChalcEA as an active compound for anticancer therapeutics.