FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF SOLID LIPID NANOPARTICLES LOADED WITH BACOSIDE RICH EXTRACT

The treatment of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) becomes much more difficult due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Various synthetic drugs are used for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, but the use of herbal products has increased tremendously nowadays. An important medicinal plant widely used therapeutically is Bacopa monnieri (Brahmi), a well-known nootropic herb of family Scrophulariaceae. The bacosides present in Brahmi aid in the repair of damaged neurons and ultimately improve nerve impulse transmission. However, the delivery of every such drug is limited due to the failure of the drug to overcome the blood-brain barrier and reach CNS. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) are the drug carriers that have been able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and improve the therapeutic efficacy of drugs. The current study focuses on the treatment strategy for AD using bacoside rich extract loaded SLNs. The bacoside rich concentrate was extracted from the aerial part of the plant and was characterized by melting point determination, HPTLC, UV-spectroscopy and FTIR. SLNs were prepared with a simple lipid stearic acid using hot homogenization technique and were characterized for particle size, zeta potential, drug entrapment efficiency, TEM, in-vitro drug release studies, release kinetics and stability studies. The formulation was found to exhibit prolonged drug release for 24 h and showed appreciable stability for 3 months during stability studies which confirmed the efficacy of formulated solid lipid nanoparticles.