Formulation and Antioxidant Property of Bitter Melon Seed Oil Loaded Into Snedds as a Nutraceutical

Abstract

Bitter melon seed oil has an antioxidant activity which is beneficial to treat various degenerative diseases. However, the bitter melon seed oil is less soluble in the gastrointestinal tract and has low absorption. Therefore, a selfnanoemulsion dosage form is needed to support its absorption and maintain its antioxidant activity. This study aimed to formulate bitter melon seed oil into a self-nano emulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) and examine its antioxidant activity change after being transformed into SNEDDS using the Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) method and DPPH (2,2-diphenyl1-picrylhydrazyl) assay. The SNEDDS formulation uses bitter melon seed oil as the active ingredient and the oil phase, Cremophor RH 40 as a surfactant, and glycerin as a co-surfactant. The results showed that the best SNEDDS formula has a ratio of oil: Smix (surfactants mixture) of 1:4. The best formula transmittance was 97.35±0.04% with an emulsification time of 15.69±0.06 seconds, a pH value of 6.87±0.08, and a particle size of 31.8±16.3nm. Thermodynamic stability and robustness to dilution tests showed that the preparation was stable and resistant to various dilutions and pH. The antioxidant activity of bitter melon seed oil before and after being transformed into SNEDDS resulted in a statistically insignificant difference. This study concluded that bitter melon seed oil SNEDDS has good physical characteristics, stability, and no antioxidant activity changes after formulation, supporting its application to new therapeutic uses