Technological evaluation of emulsions containing the volatile oil from leaves of Plectranthus Amboinicus Lour
Pablo Queiroz Lopes1, Fabíola Bernardo Carneiro2, Ana Braz Letícia de Sousa3, Sócrates Golziodo Santos4, Elquio Eleamen Oliveira5, Luiz Alberto Lira Soares6
1 Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco - UFPE, Rua Prof. Artur de Sá s/n, Recife,Pernambuco, Brazil 2 Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco - UFPE, Rua Prof. Artur de Sá s/n, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil 3 Departamento de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal da Paraíba - UFPB, Cidade Universitária, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil 4 Departamento de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal da Paraíba - UFPB, Cidade Universitária, Paraíba, Brazil 5 Centro de Ciências Biológicas e Sociais Aplicadas, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba - UEPB, Rua Horácio Trajano de Oliveira, s/n, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil 6 Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco - UFPE, Rua Prof. Artur de Sá s/n, Pernambuco, Departamento de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco - UFPE, Rua Prof. Artur de Sá s/n, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Luiz Alberto Lira Soares Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Federal University of Pernambuco–UFPE, Prof. Arthur de Sá, s/n, Cidade Universitária, Recife-PE Brazil
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0973-1296.197646
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Background: Plectranthus amboinicus Lour is a species which is widespread throughout tropical countries where it is widely used against respiratory tract disorders such as bronchodilator, antitussive, and expectorant conditions. Objective: This study aims to characterize the essential oil of P. amboinicus (PaEO) and produce and evaluate emulsions containing PaEO. Materials and Methods: The essential oil was characterized by physical-chemical analyses for density, refractive index, 90% ethanol solubility, color, appearance, and identification by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry detection. The emulsions were prepared following a hydrophile-lipophile balance [HLB] spreadsheet design from two nonionic surfactants (Span 80® and Tween 20®) producing HLB values ranging from 4.3 to 16.7. The products were stored at room temperature at 5°C. The emulsion stabilities were tested both in the long and short-term.Results: The PaEO was obtained by steam distillation and the total extraction was reached after 3 hours yielding of 0.2% (w/w). This essential oil was characterized by physicochemical analyses for density [1.5 g.ml-1], refraction index [0.9167], ethanol 90% solubility [1:2], color, and appearance (yellow/clear). Nineteen components were identified in the oil, among them the sesquiterpenes: carvacrol [33.50%], p-cymene [28.20%] and γ-terpinene [14.77%]. The emulsions obtained successfully showed, for the first time, HLB values for essential oils from Plectranthus amboinicus [15.7].Conclusion: The experimental data shows a relationship between HLB values of the surfactant mixtures contributing to the emulsified systems production containing phytopharmaceuticals. Such an approach is of great importance to the development of lipid carriers for therapeutic drugs.
Abbreviations used: PaEO: essential oil of P. amboinicus, HLB: hydrophilic-lipophilic balance, CI: Creaming Index, MET: micro-emultocrit technique |