Babchi essential oil (BEO) is a valuable essential oil reported to possess a variety of biological activities such as antitumor, anti inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, antifungal and antibacterial properties. Due to its anti-microbial properties, this oil possesses an immense potential for the treatment of dermatological disorders. Further, it has minimal tendency to develop resistance, a common issue with most of the antibiotics. However, its highly viscous nature and poor stability in the presence of light, air and high temperature, limits its practical applications. To surmount these issues, this research aims to encapsulate BEO in ethyl cellulose (EC) microsponges for enhanced stability, antibacterial effect and decreased dermal toxicity. The quasi emulsion solvent evaporation technique was used for fabrication of the BEO microsponges employing EC as polymer, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as stabilizer and dichloro methane (DCM) as solvent. The effect of formulation variables such as the amount of EC and PVA were also investigated. The prepared microformulations were evaluated for production yield, encapsulation efficiency, particle size and in vitro release. In vitro cytotoxicity was also checked to assess dermal safety of BEO microsponges. Results revealed that all the dispersions were in micro size range (20.44 ± 3.13 μm to 41.75 ± 3.65 μm), with good encapsulation efficiency (87.70 ± 1.20% of F2) and controlled release profile (cumulative drug release 73.34 ± 1.76%). Field emission scanning electron microscopy results showed that the microsponges possessed a spherical uniform shape with a spongy structure. Results of cytotoxicity study indicated that the prepared microsponges were safer on dermal cells in comparison to pure BEO. The optimized formulation was also evaluated for in vitro antimicrobial assay against dermal bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli, which confirmed their enhanced antibacterial activity. Furthermore, the results of photostability and stability analysis indicated improved stability of BEO loaded microsponges. Hence, encapsulation of BEO in microsponges resulted in efficacious carrier system in terms of stability as well as safety of this essential oil alongwith handling benefits.

中文翻译：

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将babchi精油包封到微海绵中：理化性质、细胞毒性评价和抗微生物活性

Babchi 精油 (BEO) 是一种有价值的精油，据报道具有多种生物活性，如抗肿瘤、抗炎、免疫调节、抗氧化、抗真菌和抗菌特性。由于其抗微生物特性，这种油具有治疗皮肤病的巨大潜力。此外，它产生抗药性的趋势很小，这是大多数抗生素的常见问题。然而，它的高粘性和在光、空气和高温存在下的稳定性差，限制了它的实际应用。为了克服这些问题，本研究旨在将 BEO 封装在乙基纤维素 (EC) 微海绵中，以增强稳定性、抗菌效果并降低皮肤毒性。准乳液溶剂蒸发技术用于制备BEO微海绵，采用EC作为聚合物，聚乙烯醇（PVA）作为稳定剂，二氯甲烷（DCM）作为溶剂。还研究了配方变量的影响，例如 EC 和 PVA 的量。对制备的微制剂的产率、包封效率、粒径和体外释放进行了评估。还检查了体外细胞毒性以评估 BEO 微海绵的皮肤安全性。结果表明，所有分散体均在微米尺寸范围内（20.44 ± 3.13 μm 至 41.75 ± 3.65 μm），具有良好的包封率（F2 的 87.70 ± 1.20%）和控释曲线（累积药物释放 73.34 ± 1.76%）。场发射扫描电子显微镜结果表明，微海绵具有球形均匀的形状，具有海绵状结构。细胞毒性研究结果表明，与纯 BEO 相比，制备的微海绵对真皮细胞更安全。优化后的配方还针对金黄色葡萄球菌、铜绿假单胞菌和大肠杆菌等皮肤细菌进行了体外抗菌试验，证实了它们的抗菌活性增强。此外，光稳定性和稳定性分析的结果表明负载 BEO 的微海绵的稳定性有所提高。因此，将 BEO 包封在微海绵中会在这种精油的稳定性和安全性以及处理益处方面产生有效的载体系统。细胞毒性研究结果表明，与纯 BEO 相比，制备的微海绵对真皮细胞更安全。优化后的配方还针对金黄色葡萄球菌、铜绿假单胞菌和大肠杆菌等皮肤细菌进行了体外抗菌试验，证实了它们的抗菌活性增强。此外，光稳定性和稳定性分析的结果表明负载 BEO 的微海绵的稳定性有所提高。因此，将 BEO 包封在微海绵中会在这种精油的稳定性和安全性以及处理益处方面产生有效的载体系统。细胞毒性研究结果表明，与纯 BEO 相比，制备的微海绵对真皮细胞更安全。优化后的配方还针对金黄色葡萄球菌、铜绿假单胞菌和大肠杆菌等皮肤细菌进行了体外抗菌试验，证实了它们的抗菌活性增强。此外，光稳定性和稳定性分析的结果表明负载 BEO 的微海绵的稳定性有所提高。因此，将 BEO 包封在微海绵中会在这种精油的稳定性和安全性以及处理益处方面产生有效的载体系统。优化后的配方还针对金黄色葡萄球菌、铜绿假单胞菌和大肠杆菌等皮肤细菌进行了体外抗菌试验，证实了它们的抗菌活性增强。此外，光稳定性和稳定性分析的结果表明负载 BEO 的微海绵的稳定性有所提高。因此，将 BEO 包封在微海绵中会在这种精油的稳定性和安全性以及处理益处方面产生有效的载体系统。还评估了优化的配方对金黄色葡萄球菌、铜绿假单胞菌和大肠杆菌等皮肤细菌的体外抗菌测定，证实了它们增强的抗菌活性。此外，光稳定性和稳定性分析的结果表明负载 BEO 的微海绵的稳定性有所提高。因此，将 BEO 包封在微海绵中会在这种精油的稳定性和安全性以及处理益处方面产生有效的载体系统。