Development and evaluation of emulsions from Carapa guianensis (Andiroba) oil

AAPS PharmSciTech. 2010 Sep;11(3):1383-90. doi: 10.1208/s12249-010-9491-z. Epub 2010 Sep 8.

Abstract

Carapa guianensis, a popular medicinal plant known as "Andiroba" in Brazil, has been used in traditional medicine as an insect repellent and anti-inflammatory product. Additionally, this seed oil has been reported in the literature as a repellent against Aedes aegypti. The aim of this work is to report on the emulsification of vegetable oils such as "Andiroba" oil by using a blend of nonionic surfactants (Span 80® and Tween 20®), using the critical hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) and pseudo-ternary diagram as tools to evaluate the system's stability. The emulsions were prepared by the inverse phase method. Several formulations were made according to a HLB spreadsheet design (from 4.3 to 16.7), and the products were stored at 25°C and 4°C. The emulsion stabilities were tested both long- and short-term, and the more stable one was used for the pseudo-ternary diagram study. The emulsions were successfully obtained by a couple of surfactants, and the HLB analysis showed that the required HLB of the oil was 16.7. To conclude, the pseudo-ternary diagram identified several characteristic regions such as emulsion, micro-emulsion, and separation of phases.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Drug Evaluation, Preclinical
  • Drug Stability
  • Drug Storage
  • Emulsions / chemical synthesis*
  • Hexoses / chemistry*
  • Meliaceae / chemistry*
  • Plant Oils / chemistry*
  • Polysorbates / chemistry*

Substances

  • Emulsions
  • Hexoses
  • Plant Oils
  • Polysorbates
  • sorbitan monooleate