Study on preparation of Panax notoginseng saponins transfersomes and their effects on acute soft tissue injury in rats / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: To optimize the formulation of Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) transfersomes and to verify their effects on acute soft tissue injury in rats. Methods: Thin film dispersion method was employed to prepare PNS transfersomes. Based on the elasticity of transfersomes, PNS transfersomal formulation was optimized by a uniform experimental design. Extrusion method and centrifugation-ultrafiltration method were respectively adopted to determine the elasticity and the entrapment efficiency (EE) of PNS transfersomes. The therapeutic effects of PNS transfersomes on acute soft tissue injury in rats were evaluated by observing the indexes of injury symptom, the hemorheology and the histomorphology with Qingpeng Ointment being used as positive control. Results: The optimum formulation was as follows PNS 100 mg, cholesterol 15 mg, soybean phospholipid 120 mg, vitamin E 2 mg, volatile oils (limonene-citral = 41) 80 mg, and hydration liquid (phosphate buffered saline, pH 5.0) 10 mL. The optimized PNS transfersomes had elasticity of (2.74 ± 0.32) min, average size of (123.6 ± 0.36) nm, Zeta potential of (-36.67 ± 2.29) mV, and EE of (82.42 ± 0.69)% and (94.40 ± 0.74)% for ginsenoside Rg1 and ginsenoside Rb1, respectively. The results of pharmacodynamical tests showed that the PNS transfersomes could significantly improve the injury symptom indexes (P < 0.01) and hemorheology (P < 0.05) of the rats compared with model control, and it could also improve their histomorphology. Conclusion: The optimized PNS transfersomes with an appropriate size, desired elasticity, and drug EE are effective for the acute soft tissue injury in rats.