Technological evaluation of emulsions containing the volatile oil from leaves of Plectranthus Amboinicus Lour

Pablo Queiroz Lopes; Fabíola Bernardo Carneiro; Ana Braz Letícia de Sousa; Sócrates Golziodo Santos; Elquio Eleamen Oliveira; Luiz Alberto Lira Soares

Articles

Abstract

Pharmacognosy Magazine,2017,13,49,159-167.

DOI:10.4103/0973-1296.197646

Published:January 2017

Type:Original Article

Authors:

Author(s) affiliations:

Pablo Queiroz Lopes¹, Fabíola Bernardo Carneiro², Ana Braz Letícia de Sousa³, Sócrates Golziodo Santos⁴, Elquio Eleamen Oliveira⁵, Luiz Alberto Lira Soares⁶
¹Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco - UFPE, Rua Prof. Artur de Sá s/n, Recife,Pernambuco, Brazil
²Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco - UFPE, Rua Prof. Artur de Sá s/n, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
³Departamento de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal da Paraíba - UFPB, Cidade Universitária, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil
⁴Departamento de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal da Paraíba - UFPB, Cidade Universitária, Paraíba, Brazil
⁵Centro de Ciências Biológicas e Sociais Aplicadas, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba - UEPB, Rua Horácio Trajano de Oliveira, s/n, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil
⁶Programa 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

Abstract:

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.