Formulation and Evaluation of Phytosomes of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Adiantum capillus-veneris for Antimicrobial Activity

Background: Natural plant extracts and phytoconstituents have high in vitro bioactivity but low in vivo bioactivity because of poor lipid solubility, multiple ring large molecules, or digestion in the gut. Polyphenolic phytoconstituents were complexed with phospholipids, mainly phosphatidylcholine, which molecularly attaches components to one another to produce novel drug delivery systems like phytosomes. The important constituents of the herbal extract are designed to protect from being disrupted by gastric juices and gut bacteria, as phytosomes have the ability to cross the bio-membranes that which are lipid enriched and boost bioavailability. Objectives: The current work is aimed to formulate and evaluate phytosomes from Adiantum capillus-veneris (ACV) hydroalcoholic extract for antimicrobial activity. Materials and Methods: Antisolvent precipitation method was chosen on the basis of the solubility of hydroalcoholic extract in dichloromethane. The prepared trial batches of the phytosomes complex were characterized by using particle size, zeta potential, drug entrapment efficiency, drug content, and in vitro drug release study. The optimized batch of phytosomes was characterized for compatibility studies by using Infrared Spectrometry (IR), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TSM), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and further for stability studies. Results: The results revealed that ACV hydroalcoholic extract and phosphatidylcholine were found to be connected by a non-covalent bond and did not generate a new molecule in the ACV hydroalcoholic extract-phosphatidylcholine complex and showed enhanced in vitro antimicrobial activity as compared to the hydroalcoholic extract. Conclusion: The complex's dissolution profile was found to be improved. As a result, the phospholipid complex of ACV extract can therefore be concluded to have the potential to enhance bioavailability.