International Journal of Nanomedicine (Jun 2021)

Wound Healing Activity of Opuntia ficus-indica Fixed Oil Formulated in a Self-Nanoemulsifying Formulation

  • Koshak AE,
  • Algandaby MM,
  • Mujallid MI,
  • Abdel-Naim AB,
  • Alhakamy NA,
  • Fahmy UA,
  • Alfarsi A,
  • Badr-Eldin SM,
  • Neamatallah T,
  • Nasrullah MZ,
  • Abdallah HM,
  • Esmat A

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 16
pp. 3889 – 3905

Abstract

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Abdulrahman E Koshak,1 Mardi M Algandaby,2,3 Mohammad I Mujallid,3 Ashraf B Abdel-Naim,4 Nabil A Alhakamy,5 Usama A Fahmy,5 Anas Alfarsi,5 Shaimaa M Badr-Eldin,5,6 Thikryat Neamatallah,4 Mohammed Z Nasrullah,4 Hossam M Abdallah,1,7 Ahmed Esmat8,9 1Department of Natural Products and Alternative Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 2Medicinal Plants Research Group, Deanship of Scientific Research, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 3Faculty of Science, Department of Biological Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 6Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt; 7Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt; 8Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 9Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Cairo, EgyptCorrespondence: Hossam M AbdallahDepartment of Natural Products and Alternative Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi ArabiaTel +966544733110Email [email protected]: Delayed wound healing represents a common health hazard. Traditional herbal products have been often utilized to promote wound contraction. The current study aimed at assessing the wound healing activity of Opuntia ficus-indica seed oil (OFI) and its self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (OFI-SNEDDS) formula in a rat model of full-thickness skin excision.Methods: Based on droplet size, an optimized OFI-SNEDDS formula was prepared and used for subsequent evaluation. Wound healing activity of OFI and OFI-SNEDDS was studied in vivo.Results: The optimized OFI-SNEDDS formula droplet size was 50.02 nm. The formula exhibited superior healing activities as compared to regular OFI seed oil-treated rats at day 14 of wounding. This effect was further confirmed by histopathological examinations of H&E and Masson’s Trichrome-stained skin sections. Moreover, OFI-SNEDDS showed the highest antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities as compared to OFI seed oil-treated animals. Both OFI and OFI-SNEDDS significantly enhanced hydroxyproline skin content and upregulated Col1A1 mRNA expression, accompanied by enhanced expression of transforming factor-beta (TGF-β). Further, OFI-SNEDDS improved angiogenesis as evidenced by increased expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).Conclusion: OFI possesses wound healing properties that are enhanced by self-emulsification of the oil into nano-droplets. The observed activity can be attributed, at least partly, to its anti-inflammatory, pro-collagen and angiogenic properties.Keywords: Opuntia ficus-indica, SNEDDS, wound healing, TGF-β, VEGF, rats

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