Biological evaluation of Safrole oil and Safrole oil Nanoemulgel as antioxidant, antidiabetic, antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer

Abstract

Background Safrole is a natural compound extracted from various plants, and has shown various biological activities. The current study aimed to investigate the antioxidant, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, and anticancer activity of safrole oil and to study the influence of safrole nanoemulgel on these activities. Methods The antioxidant and antidiabetic in-vitro assays were conducted using standard biomedical methods. The safrole oil nanoemulgel was developed using a self-emulsifying technique. Then the antimicrobial activity of the safrole oil and safrole nanoemulgel were performed on different microbial species, and cytotoxicity was determined against Hep3B cancer cell lines using the MTS assay. Results Safrole oil showed moderate antioxidant activity compared with standard Trolox, with IC50 value 50.28 ± 0.44 and 1.55 ± 0.32 μg/ml, respectively. Moreover, it had potent α-amylase inhibitory activity (IC50 11.36 ± 0.67 μg/ml) compared with Acarbose (IC50 value 5.88 ± 0.63). The safrole nanoemulgel had pseudo-plastic behaviour, droplet sizes below 200 nm, a polydispersity index (PDI) below 0.3, and a zeta potential of less than − 30 mV. Safrole oil has potential antimicrobial and anticancer activities, and these activities were improved with safrole nanoemulgel. Conclusion The safrole oil may be applied for the prevention and treatment of oxidative stress, diabetes, different microbial species and cancer, and these activities could be improved by nano-carriers.

Terpenes and terpenoids as main bioactive compounds of essential oils, their roles in human health and potential application as natural food preservatives

“…In a recent study, anethole has been reported to yield anticancer activity ( Contant, Rouabhia, Loubaki, Chandad, & Semlali, 2021 ). Moreover, myristicin has been described to exert antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory properties ( Seneme, Dos Santos, Silva, Franco, & Longato, 2021 ) and safrole has been reported to promote diverse biological activities, such as antidiabetic, antimicrobial, analgesic, and antifungal activities ( Eid & Hawash, 2021 ).…”

Evaluating the Potential of Phytochemicals as Natural Substitute for Synthetic Antioxidant: A Review

“…The antioxidant activity of safrole oil has been reported to be comparatively lower than the Trolox reference standard, which is known to have high antioxidant activity. However, free radicals scavenging activity of safrole is still considered eminent [66] Menthol C 10 H 20 O…”

Development and Evaluation of Clove and Cinnamon Supercritical Fluid Extracts-Loaded Emulgel for Antifungal Activity in Denture Stomatitis

“…Nevertheless, despite the many benefits of gels, one significant constraint is the delivery of hydrophobic drugs. To circumvent this limitation, emulsion hydrogels, synonymously called emulgels, were introduced, allowing even hydrophobic drug moieties to benefit from the special features of gels [ 13 , 14 ]. Polymer plays crucial roles in the formulation of emulgels.…”