engleski

Phospholipid-based delivery systems for phytochemicals

Parallel to the development of drugs as new chemical entities, 21st century is characterized by the increased interest in substances of natural origin. Majority of them are from plant origin and have been used as crude drugs in traditional medicine world-wide for hundreds or thousands of years. By combining the knowledge on their traditional use with modern isolation methods, the means to prove their mechanism of action and the development of more sophisticated delivery systems, we should be able to increase their therapeutic efficiency. Phytochemicals represent a challenge in development of delivery systems as they are, in majority, rather poorly water-soluble and unstable. Through development of phospholipid-based delivery system, such as liposomes, we could improve their bioavailabilities. Moreover, we propose that the use of plant extracts, rather than isolated active ingredients, may lead to simple and more cost-effective formulations. The phytochemicals of our choice were capsaicin, curcumin and papain. Capsaicin is currently undergoing “revival” in the clinical management of pain. Topical capsaicin should be considered as an adjunct to core therapy for knee and hand osteoarthritis Curcumin, among various therapeutic actions, possesses strong anti-inflammatory properties, which may be utilized in various diseases, among which are interests are in skin and vaginal disorders. Papain, on the other hand, is known to improve wound healing processes. The approaches in development of delivery systems for these three phytochemicals and first in vitro and in vivo results will be discussed in details in the presentation.

phospholipids; liposomes; phytochemicals

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