Effects of clove oil-phospholipid mixtures on rheology of gum tragacanth - possible application for surfactant action on mucus gel simulants.

The present study evaluates the effectiveness of specialised biomaterials consisting of clove oil- phospholipid mixtures as possible substitute surfactants in diseases of altered mucus viscosity by studying their effect on the viscosity of mucus gel simulants in vitro. Test surfactants consisting of phospholipid-clove oil mixtures in the ratio of 1 part of oil to 9 parts of phospholipid were prepared. The phospholipids used were dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and binary mixtures of PC: PE and PC: PG in the ratio of 2 parts of PC to 3 parts of PE or PG. The effects of the phospholipid-clove oil mixtures on the viscosity of mucus gel simulant (MGS: a polymeric gel consisting predominantly of gum tragacanth and simulating respiratory mucus), was studied by application of steady shear rates ranging from 0.512 to 51.2/s in a concentric cylinder viscometer at 37 degrees C. The change in MGS viscosity, after incubation with surfactants, was found to have a non-Newtonian character and to follow the power law model with R2 values >0.8. The addition of clove oil-phospholipid mixtures caused a decrease in the MGS viscosity when compared with the effect of the phospholipid alone at low shear rates in case of PC, PG and PCPG. The combination of PC : PG with clove oil caused ratios of change in MGS viscosity < 1 i.e., caused a decrease in the MGS viscosity. PC: PG with clove oil was capable of lowering MGS viscosity and should be further researched as possible therapies for diseases of altered mucus rheology.