Formulation, Characterization and Pharmacokinetic Studies of Pinus koraiensis Nuts Oil Based Coenzyme Q10 Loaded Nanoemulsion

Abstract

Coenzyme Q10 nanoemulsion (CoQ10-NE) was improved and made utilizing Pinus koraiensis nuts oil as the oil phase, soybean lecithin as the surfactant, and ethanol as the cosurfactant in this study. The effects of different factors on the mean particle size and polydispersity index (PDI) of CoQ10-NE were studied, and the quality was evaluated by DLS, TEM, FT-IR, stability, in vitro release behavior and in vivo pharmacokinetic experiments in rats.The results showed that when the mass ratio of CoQ10 to mixed surfactant was 3:40, the mass ratio of CoQ10 to Pinus koraiensis nuts oil was 1:4, the homogenizing pressure was 800 bar, and the number of cycles was 6 times, the CoQ10-NE of mean particle size of 150.30±1.43 nm and PDI of 0.234±0.012 was obtained. The morphology and microstructure showed that the CoQ10-NE was round and non-adhesive at the size of 500 nm and 1 µm. FT-IR results showed that CoQ10 was completely encapsulated in nanoemulsion. The stability experiment showed that there was no significant difference in the mean particle size and PDI (P>0.05). CoQ10-NE had good stability. In vitro release experiments showed that the cumulative dissolution rate of CoQ10-NE was 4.7-fold that of the CoQ10 suspension at 120 min. The dissolution rate was significantly improved. According to the results of pharmacokinetic investigations in rats, the maximum plasma concentration Cmax of CoQ10-NE was 2.80-fold that of CoQ10 suspension, the drug concentration of CoQ10-NE in rats was greatly enhanced. The area \begin{document}${\rm{AUC}}_{0{\text -}\infty} $\end{document} was 3.25-fold that of the CoQ10 suspension, demonstrating that CoQ10-NE bioavailability and absorption were greatly increased. The CoQ10-NE developed in this study provides a theoretical foundation for investigating the creation of new CoQ10 formulations and their potential application as a functional ingredient in food.

Keywords

• coenzyme q10
• pinus koraiensis nuts oil
• nanoemulsion
• characterization
• pharmacokinetics