Nanoemulsion of the Essential Oil from <i>Blumea balsamifera</i> (L.) DC. and Its Effect on Trauma Repair

Abstract

toms such as nausea and vomiting. The BBO can only work slowly and is not suitable for emergency patients and patients with oral disorders 2) . Nanoemulsions, as good carriers for lipophilic drugs, can improve drug solubility, fast absorption, high stability, and slow release targeting 3) , and are the ideal dosage form to address the application of BBO.Studies have shown that topical application of BBO improves wound healing 4) . Via enhancing the production of granulation in body tissues, it promotes the formation of new blood vessels, promoting epithelial deposition and wound contraction 5) . Fatty acids, as important components of the essential oils, accelerate wound healing by reducing free radicals and scavenging reactive oxygen species, alter-Abstract: The essential oil, extracted from the Hmong medicine Blumea balsamifera (L.) DC. (BBO), is a purely natural wound repair agent. Its application has, however, been restricted due to its low solubility and high volatility properties. In this study, we have developed a nanoemulsion formulation to improve the characteristics of BBO. The particle size of the nanoemulsion was normally distributed, and 71% of its range was concentrated between 10-100 nm, with an average particle size of 62.8 nm and an encapsulation rate of 98%. After 7 days of application, the wound healing rate of the BBO nanoemulsion (BBO-NE) group was 1.5 times higher than that of the normal BBO group. Along with histological observations, nanoemulsion formulation has been demonstrated to significantly improve the efficacy of BBO for wound repair. In addition, inflammation-related TLR4, CD14 and IRAK-1 gene transcript levels were significantly reduced after the administration of BBO-NE compared to the BBO group, with downregulation of 47.8%, 35.7% and 57.8%, respectively, while the secretion of pro-inflammatory factors IL-6 and TNF-α was also significantly reduced by 83.8% and 32.7%, respectively, in the nanoformulation administration (BBO-NE) group compared to the BBO group. In contrast, the anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 was significantly increased by 4.2-fold. It was further found that the drug penetration per unit area increased significantly 6.30% to 19.5% at different time points after the application of the BBO-NE compared to the BBO. In conclusion, nano-formulation enhanced the drug penetration of the BBO, reduced inflammatory factors, increased the level of anti-inflammatory factors, and promoted collagen deposition, thereby accelerating wound repair.