Characterization Of Oil In Water Hemp Seed Oil Nanoemulsions With A Protective Effect Against Steatohepatitis

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Hatem I. Mokhtar

Sinai University, Egypt

: J Pharm Drug Deliv Res

Abstract

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Hemp seed oil is extracted from Cannabis sativa seeds and consists of polyunsaturated fatty acids as the major component, including ω-3-fatty acids such as linolenic acid, α-linolenic acid, γ-linolenic acid, and stearidonic acid in addition to monounsaturated, saturated fats and sterols. Many pharmacological effects have been discovered for hemp seed oil such as cholesterol reduction and anti-inflammatory effects.We aimed to prepare and characterize nanoemulsion formulations of hemp seed oil, and to evaluate their hepatoprotective effect against experimental non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in rats. Bulk sample of hemp seed oil was first characterized for composition of saponifiable and unsaponifiable fractions of fats by GC-MS. The applied oil sample was found to contain up to 73.7%w/w of its saponifiable fatty acids content of α-methyl linolenate as well as other fatty acids as well as 4.95%w/w of the unsaponifiable part of γ-Sitosterol. High pressure homogenization technique was applied to formulate four different nanoemulsion formulas; which were then characterized for physicochemical properties such as droplet size, zeta potential (ZP), polydispersity index as well as the preparation stability. The best formula (#4) was then selected on the basis of droplet size and preparation stability and tested for biological activity in the rat NASH model. Experimental groups were as follows: normal, NASH control, NASH + hemp seed oil (bulk sample) and NASH + hemp seed oil nanoemulsion. Measurements were made for body weight change, insulin resistance and hepatic pathology. Nanoemulsion formulation #4 of hemp seed oil had a superior protective effect against NASH in rats in comparison with the bulk non-emulsified hemp seed oil.

Biography

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Dr. Hatem I. Mokhtar is a lecturer of pharmaceutical analytical chemistry in Faculty of pharmacy, Sinai University (Kantara). He had more than 19 years of experience in pharmaceutical industry analytical research field including analytical method development, validation, stability studies and comparative dissolution studies. He had graduated in Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, at 1999. He got his Master’s degree at 2014 and PhD degree at 2020 in pharmaceutical sciences; Analytical chemistry from Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University. Research interests include synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials, microextraction techniques, HPLC computer aided method development and application of Quality by Design Concepts on analytical method development.