Khan Haji Muhammad Shoaib, Tanveer Nishma, Arshad Tahreem, Rasool Fatima, Uddin Mohammad N, Kazi Mohsin
Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Punjab, 63100, Pakistan.
University College of Pharmacy, University of The Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, 05422, Pakistan.
Heliyon. 2023 Aug 23;9(9):e19326. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19326. eCollection 2023 Sep.
Alpha arbutin is a skin-whitening agent in cosmetics. Structurally, it is 4-hydroxyphenyl-α-glucopyranoside. Ethosomes encourage the formation of lamellar-shaped vesicles with improved solubility and entrapment of whitening agents. The objective of this study was to fabricate an optimized nanostructured ethosomal gel loaded with alpha arbutin for the treatment of skin pigmentation. Different ethosomal suspensions of alpha arbutin were prepared by the cold method. evaluation included zeta potential, droplet size analysis, polydispersity index, entrapment efficiency (EE), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Stability studies of the optimized ethosomal and control gels were performed for three months under different temperature conditions. The optimized ethosomal gel loaded with alpha arbutin was further analyzed on human volunteers for skin benefits by measuring melanin level, moisture content and elasticity. It was concluded that the optimized formulation had a size, zeta potential, polydispersity index and entrapment efficiency of 196.87 nm, -45.140 mV, 0.217 and 93.458343%, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) depicted spherical ethosomal vesicles. Stability data was obtained in terms of pH and conductivity. Rheological analysis revealed non-Newtonian flow. The cumulative drug permeated for ethosomal gel was 78.4%. Moreover, encapsulation of alpha arbutin causes significant improvement in skin melanin, moisture content and elasticity. The overall findings suggested that the arbutin-loaded ethosomal formulation was stable and could be a better approach than conventional formulation for cosmeceutical purposes such as for depigmentation and moisturizing effects.
α - 熊果苷是化妆品中的一种美白剂。从结构上看，它是4 - 羟基苯基 - α - 吡喃葡萄糖苷。醇质体可促进层状囊泡的形成，提高美白剂的溶解度和包封率。本研究的目的是制备一种负载α - 熊果苷的优化纳米结构醇质体凝胶，用于治疗皮肤色素沉着。通过冷法制备了不同的α - 熊果苷醇质体悬浮液。评估内容包括zeta电位、液滴尺寸分析、多分散指数、包封率（EE）、扫描电子显微镜（SEM）和傅里叶变换红外（FTIR）光谱。在不同温度条件下对优化后的醇质体凝胶和对照凝胶进行了为期三个月的稳定性研究。通过测量黑色素水平、水分含量和弹性，对负载α - 熊果苷的优化醇质体凝胶在人体志愿者身上的皮肤益处进行了进一步分析。结果表明，优化后的制剂尺寸、zeta电位、多分散指数和包封率分别为196.87 nm、 - 45.140 mV、0.217和93.458343%。扫描电子显微镜（SEM）显示为球形醇质体囊泡。获得了关于pH值和电导率的稳定性数据。流变学分析表明其为非牛顿流体。醇质体凝胶的药物累积渗透量为78.4%。此外，α - 熊果苷的包封对皮肤黑色素、水分含量和弹性有显著改善。总体研究结果表明，负载熊果苷的醇质体制剂稳定，对于诸如色素沉着和保湿效果等药妆用途而言，可能是一种比传统制剂更好的方法。
