Syngonanthus nitens Bong. (Rhul.)-Loaded Nanostructured System for Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Treatment

Abstract

Herbal-loaded drug delivery nanotechnological systems have been extensively studied recently. The antimicrobial activity of medicinal plants has shown better pharmacological action when such plants are loaded into a drug delivery system than when they are not loaded. Syngonanthus nitens Bong. (Rhul.) belongs to the Eriocaulaceae family and presents antiulcerogenic, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antifungal activity of Syngonanthus nitens (S. nitens) extract that was not loaded (E) or loaded (SE) into a liquid crystal precursor system (S) for the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) with Candida albicans. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by the microdilution technique. Additionally, we performed hyphae inhibition and biofilm tests. Finally, experimental candidiasis was evaluated in in vivo models with Wistar female rats. The results showed effective antifungal activity after incorporation into S for all strains tested, with MICs ranging from 31.2 to 62.5 μg/mL. Microscopic observation of SE revealed an absence of filamentous cells 24 h of exposure to a concentration of 31.2 μg/mL. E demonstrated no effective action against biofilms, though SE showed inhibition against biofilms of all strains. In the in vivo experiment, SE was effective in the treatment of infection after only two days of treatment and was more effective than E and amphotericin B. The S. nitens is active against Candida albicans (C. albicans) and the antifungal potential is being enhanced after incorporation into liquid crystal precursor systems (LCPS). These findings represent a promising application of SE in the treatment of VVC.

Polyethyleneimine and Chitosan Polymer-Based Mucoadhesive Liquid Crystalline Systems Intended for Buccal Drug Delivery

“…The results were promising, as they demonstrated that this LCPS was transformed into a lamellar liquid crystalline mesophase upon the addition of 100% artificial vaginal mucus. The extract-loaded LCPS was found to be effective 2 days after the initiation of treatment and was more effective than the extract solution alone (42).…”

“…Dos Santos Ramos et al (42) have developed an LCPS composed of 40% oleic acid, 40% PPG-5-CETETH-20, and 20% polymer dispersion for the incorporation of an extract of the medicinal plant Syngonanthus nitens Bong (Rhul.) This LCPS was examined pre-clinically for the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis using an in vivo study conducted in Wistar rats.…”

“…This behavior has also been reported in other oscillatory rheological studies performed on liquid crystal precursor systems, which demonstrated that after the addition of artificial mucus, viscous LCPSs could be transformed into liquid crystalline elastic systems. The hexagonal and cubic crystalline mesophases generally have a G′ greater than G′′, which reflects their high degree of structural organization (8,42,56).…”

Formulation, stability study and preclinical evaluation of a vaginal cream containing curcumin in a rat model of vulvovaginal candidiasis

“…In this model, the administration of estradiol is necessary to induce a state of pseudo‐estrus, which transforms the columnar epithelium into squamous epithelium, increases the glycogen content, decreases the pH, and increases substrates that are conducive to the establishment of infection by C. albicans , in addition to inhibiting immune defenses . Furthermore, the immunosuppressant cyclophosphamide can inhibit the cellular and humoral immune responses, a condition necessary for the successful establishment of infection, and the inclusion of a wide‐spectrum antibiotic also favours infection by yeast, due to the reduction in the bacterial microbiota . After the infection establishment, treatment with cream containing curcumin was able to gradually reduce the fungal load over the days of the experiment.…”

In vitro antioxidant properties of golden grass (Syngonanthus nitens) by electron paramagnetic resonance

“…GG stem flavonoids were described as being composed by three flavanones and five flavones (Pacifico et al, ). Nowadays, the extract of S. nitens stems has been studied as a natural product against different Candida species and clinical isolates from patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), which results demonstrated that the antifungal properties are effective and it has the ability to inhibit the fungal‐host invasion on human cells (de Freitas Araújo et al, ; dos Santos Ramos et al, ). Recently, a work suggested that the study of crude extracts can provide explanations about the compounds behaviors and it shows the importance of possible bioinspired applications of a complete scientific understanding of S. nitens (Berlim et al, ).…”