Nigella sativa L. belonging to Ranunculaceae family is an important medicinal spice which has been utilised to treat various chronic diseases. Lipid nanoemulsions containing oil from medicinal plants have shown to enhance drug dissolvability, diminish symptoms of different powerful medications and enhance the bioavailability of medications, in contrast with conventional formulations. In the present study, aqueous titration method was used to prepare nanoemulsion. The optimised formulation (NE11) with the mean particle size of 37.47 nm showed a minimum viscosity of 0.547 cps and maximum drug release (98.2%) in 24 h. The stability study showed considerably stable formulations at refrigerator temperature as compared to room temperature. The cancer cell line studies confirmed that 5d sprout extract of N. sativa nanoemulsion reduced the cell viability (p < .05) and increased colony formation, ROS intensity and chromatin condensation. All data such as colony formation, ROS intensity and chromatin condensation are represented as mean ± SD (p < .001) treated cells for 48 hours. Our results concluded that the development of nanoemulsion could be an efficient carrier for drug delivery.
Keywords: aqueous titration method; hepatocellular carcinoma; nanoemulsion.